


Sonic and the Freedom Fighters

by MetalLucario



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fanfiction, Gen, One-Sided Attraction, Originally Posted on deviantART
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2020-09-26 11:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 59,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20388955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetalLucario/pseuds/MetalLucario
Summary: Three years after they first teamed up to defeat Dr. Eggman, Sonic and Tails reunite with the rest of the Freedom Fighters - just in time to stop Eggman's latest plot.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Knothole-

It was a peaceful day in Knothole. Ever since Robotnik was defeated 3 years ago, things have gradually taken a turn for the better. The rest of Robotnik's robots were destroyed, his lackeys were imprisoned, and the Mobians that were roboticized were returned to flesh and blood. Now that everything was back to normal, the citizens of Knothole could finally relax - all except one certain girl, that is.

Princess Sally Acorn was pacing anxiously around her room. A week ago, Rotor had finished building a transporter to allow Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters to reunite with Sonic, but it was still untested and he needed to make sure that it was safe for use. After a week of waiting with no word from Rotor regarding the transporters progress, Sally had become rather impatient.

Finally at her wits' end, she sighed in extreme frustration. "When will Rotor finish testing that stupid transporter?" Sally growled. "I'm sick of all this waiting."

"Sally, I think you should calm down." Nicole, Sally's handheld AI, said. "Complaining about the situation isn't going to solve it."

"I'd calm down if I could," Sally replied. "It's just-"

"This is about Sonic, isn't it?"

Sally stared in surprise at the handheld computer sitting on her bedside table. Ever since Rotor had modified Nicole to have a better understanding of emotions, she became better at reading people, especially Sally. Sighing, Sally sat down on the side of her bed.

"Sonic said that he was going to find out if Robotnik had any secret plans after his disappearance, but that was three years ago," Sally said. "What if something happened to Sonic? What if he's forgotten all about us?" She sobbed, a tear running down her cheek.

"Sally, I highly doubt Sonic has forgotten about you," Nicole said comfortingly. "Besides, if Robotnik hasn't been back to try and take over Knothole, it means that Sonic is perfectly fine."

"I know, but-" Sally started.

"Sally." Nicole interrupted. "Sonic is very fond of you. He won't forget about you."

Sally smiled, realizing that Nicole was right. The conversation had helped her take her mind off the transporter, but it didn't stop her from thinking about the blue hedgehog she missed dearly. When he told her that he was going to see what the mad dictator/scientist was up to, she wanted to go with him, but he was able to convince her to stay behind, saying that it would be too dangerous and he didn't want to see her get hurt.

She could remember that day like it was yesterday.

* * *

{Flashback}

3 years ago - Knothole Outskirts

"Please, Sonic." Sally sobbed. "You don't have to do this."

"Sal, you know better than anyone how much of a threat Robotnik is," Sonic replied. "If I don't go after him, he could come back stronger than ever."

"I... I know that, but..."

"What's wrong, Sal?"

"I just..." She said, on the brink of tears. "I just don't want to lose you."

"Wait, that's what you're worried about?" Sonic said, his signature cocky grin spread across his muzzle. "Don't worry, Sal. It'll take more than Ro-butt-nik to beat me."

"Sonic, you know that doesn't help!" Sally said, turning her head away from him in frustration. Sonic's smirk turned to a look of surprise and shock at Sally's outburst, then to a calm, serious look as he gently placed one hand on her arm and turned her head to face him with the other. Sally's stern expression quickly softened when she saw Sonic's serious look. She had never seen him this serious before.

"Sally, I'll be careful," Sonic said. "I promise." Sally didn't respond, she just looked down sadly. "Tell you what," Sonic said after a few seconds of silence, getting Sally's attention. "If I don't find Robotnik within a month, or if I find out he doesn't have any secret plans or anything, I'll come straight back to Knothole."

"You promise?" She asked.

"I promise." And with that, Sally wrapped her arms around Sonic's neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Sonic was surprised at first, but quickly closed his eyes and returned the kiss. After what felt like hours, the two slowly and reluctantly separated.

"Good luck, Sonic the Hedgehog," Sally said as she stepped back a little and smiled encouragingly. Sonic flashed her one last smile before turning around and running at top speed out of Knothole. Sally watched him, confident that her hero would return.

{End flashback}

* * *

After reminiscing, the 17-year-old princess looked at herself and realized how much she had changed. Apart from being slightly taller, she now wore a white tank top, white gloves and blue shorts, alongside her signature blue jacket and boots. She wondered if Sonic would recognize her if he saw her.

The sound of her door opening snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see her best friend, Bunnie Rabbot. Like Sally, Bunnie's appearance had changed quite a bit. She had grown her hair out to about shoulder-length, she now donned a brown cowboy hat and jacket, and her robotic limbs were now far sleeker, the latter due to Rotor's maintenance to allow her limbs to keep up with the rest of her body growth-wise.

"Hey, Sally-girl!" She greeted in her trademark southern accent.  
"Bunnie!" Sally shrieked in excitement, jumping off of the side of her bed. "Has Rotor finished testing the transporter yet?"

"Sure has," Bunnie replied. "The thing's safe to use, so Ah came to see if y'all were-" She was cut off as Sally grabbed Nicole and a light brown backpack and rushed out the door in a flash, leaving Bunnie stunned and staring at the doorway for a moment.

"After you." She muttered to herself before following.

Within seconds, Sally reached Rotor's house/workshop but stopped just in front of the door. She took a few seconds to calm herself down before opening the door. Upon entering, she saw Rotor sitting in front of the computer. Like Sally and Bunnie, Rotor's appearance had changed over the years. He was now taller and slimmer and wore yellow goggles, yellow fingerless gloves and grey and white shoes with yellow cuffs.

  
"Hello, Rotor," Sally said. "I hear the transporter is ready."

"Yeah, it is." Rotor replied. Sally walked up to a large cylindrical machine. "When you're ready, just step inside."

Without hesitation, Sally stepped inside the transporter. She looked around at the interior of the machine as the doors closed behind her. After a few seconds, the interior began to fill up with light, and Sally closed her eyes as she let the light envelop her.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself still inside the transporter, wondering if it worked at all. When the doors opened, however, she found that she was in a completely different room. When she stepped out of the transporter, she was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar yellow twin-tailed fox.

"Aunt Sally!" Tails cried as he rushed to her and hugged her.

Sally smiled as she hugged him back. She was happy to see Tails after he left to find Sonic. "It's good to see you again, Tails. I missed you." She said.

"I missed you too, Sally." Tails replied as they separated from their embrace. Sally then started to look around the room anxiously. Tails immediately guessed what, or rather, who, she was looking for.

"Sonic's not here right now, but he should be back any minute." Tails said.

"That's okay, Tails. I wanted to surprise him anyway." Sally replied with a wink.

* * *

-Eggman's Base-

Meanwhile, Sonic was currently in the heat of battle with his arch-enemy, Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. The mad doctor was seated in his Egg Mobile, which was equipped with two giant mechanical arms, which he was trying to crush Sonic with. But Sonic, being the fastest thing alive, effortlessly dodged all of Eggman's attacks.

"Too slow, Eggman!" Sonic taunted as he jumped over Eggman's futile attempt to grab him.

"Then make this easy on both of us and stay still, you little blue rodent!" Eggman shouted as he tried to crush Sonic with the left arm, only to have the blue hedgehog sidestep out of harm's way.

"Stay still? Not a chance!" retorted Sonic, Spin Dashing through the shoulder of the mechanical left arm, completely destroying it.

"Why you...!" Dr. Eggman growled.

"Just give up, Egghead. You can't win." Sonic said.

"I'm not giving up yet, Sonic!" Eggman replied. "I can still clobber you with one arm!" He then tried to punch Sonic with the right arm, causing Sonic to backflip out of the way.

"You always want to do it the hard way," Sonic said to himself as he charged up his Spin Dash, and burst through the right arm, leaving a large hole and causing it to short circuit. "No, no, no, NO!" Eggman desperately shouted.

The right arm exploded, sending the Egg Mobile flying and knocking Eggman out of it. When he landed, Eggman tried and struggled to get up as Sonic walked up to him.

"I'll be honest, Eggman. I think this has to be your worst attempt yet." Sonic said with a bit of boredom in his voice. Eggman only growled in anger as a response.

"Catch ya later, Egghead," Sonic said as he rushed out of Eggman's lair using his signature super speed. After he left, Eggman got back up on his feet.

"I'll get you next time, Sonic," Eggman said to himself. "And when I do, you're not gonna know what hit you!"

* * *

-Emerald Town-

Sonic was now racing through the streets of Emerald Town. Since Eggman had become more active within the area, Sonic and Tails decided to live there for the time being.

"Eggman's plans have been getting worse and worse every time," Sonic said to himself. "It's like he's not even trying anymore."

Sonic suddenly skidded to a halt in front of Tails' house. It was a simple, yellow, two-floor house that the young fox built himself. He was about to go in when...

"Sonic?"

Sonic turned around to find the source of the strangely familiar voice and gasped in shock when he saw the 17-year-old princess and tactician Sally Acorn.

"S-Sally?"

Sally ran up to Sonic and hugged him. Though shocked at first, Sonic quickly returned the embrace. "It's good to see you again, Sonic," Sally said, her voice cracking slightly. "It's been so long."

"I missed you so much," Sonic whispered.

"I missed you too," Sally replied, pulling him into a passionate kiss. The kiss only lasted about a minute, but to them, it felt like hours had passed.

When they separated, the two stared at each other lovingly. "We have a lot of catching up to do," Sally whispered.


	2. Just Like Old Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the return of their long lost friends, Sonic and Tails reminisce on days gone by when Sally asks her old flame a few questions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

A few moments after Sonic and Sally's reunion, the remainder of the Freedom Fighters had stepped into the transporter and were now in Tails' house. Tails and Bunnie were currently hugging each other, happy to see each other again after 3 years.

"I missed you guys so much!" Tails said.

"Same here, sugah." Bunnie replied. "Ah was so worried about yah ever since ya'll left to go with Sonic."

"Sorry, Bunnie." He said sadly.

"Don't worry your li'l head about it." Bunnie said. "Ah'm just glad to see you're okay."

Meanwhile, Sonic was currently speaking with his old "friend", Antoine D'Coolette. The coyote didn't have the highest opinion of Sonic, primarily because he saw Sonic as a rival for Sally's affection.

"Eet has been a while, Soneek." Antoine said.

"Sure has, Ant. You've changed a lot, haven't you?" Sonic said, noticing his change in wardrobe. In the past, he wore a blue and red jacket with gold shoulder pads, but now he has changed it in favour of a pair of white sashes worn on his chest in an X formation.

"Oui. In order to protect ze princess in your absence, of course I had to change."

Meanwhile, Sally was leaning back against one of the walls, lost in thought. She was wondering why Sonic had been away for three years. She came to the conclusion that the only way to find out was to ask him herself. Hesitantly, she walked up to Sonic and tapped his shoulder.

"Sonic?" She asked nervously. "Could we talk in private?"

"Sure thing, Sal." Sonic replied. as he took Sally's hand and lead her towards the door. Sally followed, a little unsure of what he was doing.

* * *

-Eggman's Base-

Unbeknownst to the Freedom Fighters, Eggman was currently spying on them from his base, using one of his Buzz Bomber robots as a spy camera. Accompanying him were a red robot with a spherical design, and a yellow robot with a cube-based body, named Orbot and Cubot respectively.

"Whatcha doin', Boss?" Cubot asked.

"I'm spying on Sonic to see when he'll let his guard down," Eggman replied. "When he does, I'll attack him without mercy."

"Wait, so you lost to Sonic moments ago on purpose?" Orbot asked, curious.

"Of course I lost to Sonic of purpose, you twit!" Eggman shouted. "Did you really think I would come up with a plan as pathetically predictable as that?"

"Yo, Boss!" Cubot said, gaining the doctor's attention. "Who's the girl with Sonic?"

"Girl?" Eggman asked as he turned his attention back to the monitor. He saw Sonic walking out the door of his friend's house while Sally's hand. He leaned towards the monitor to get a closer look. He could recognize her from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where.

"Where have I seen her before?" Eggman muttered to himself. As he watched, Sonic picked Sally up bridal-style and raced away somewhere.

"What the- Now where's he off to?!" He shouted in irritation. He had just spent the last few moments spying on Sonic, waiting for an opportunity to strike, and now that he had rushed off to goodness-knows-where, he had basically been wasting his time. Sighing in frustration, he commanded his Buzz Bomber to move to a new viewing angle to spy on Tails.

"Never mind. I'll just capture his little friend while he-" He stopped himself as he noticed a familiar half-roboticized rabbit alongside Tails.

"Wait a minute!" He said as he zoomed the camera in on Bunnie. "I recognize that girl! She was one of those insolent Freedom Fighter pests that defeated me three years ago!"

"Freedom Fighters?" Orbot asked.

"Long story," Eggman stated. "Anyways, this is my chance. Now I finally have the opportunity to destroy those rats after breaking my hold on Mobotropolis." He got up out of his seat and walked away, stopping only to take one last look at the monitor.

"Enjoy your last few moments, Freedom Fighters. When I'm done with you, you're going to wish you never even heard of me." He said as he walked off to prepare himself for battle.

* * *

-Lookout Cliff-

Elsewhere, Sonic and Sally were sitting down on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The two sat next to each other as they watched the sun set.

"This brings back memories," Sonic said as he sighed contently.

"Yeah." She whispered. "It's been years since we did this." She happily reminisced about the times she and Sonic would sit down by the Lake of Rings nearby Knothole to watch the sun go down. With the Freedom Fighters' ongoing battle with Robotnik back then, it felt undeniably good to take their minds off it for a while and relax.

"So, if you're here, who's looking after Knothole?" Sonic asked.

"My brother." She replied. "He came out of hiding along with my mother shortly after we defeated Robotnik. He's working hard alongside my dad to restore Mobotropolis."

Sonic merely hummed in response. The two were then silent for a while. It was then that Sally remembered why she wanted a private talk with Sonic in the first place.

"Sonic?" She started, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever find out what Robotnik was planning?"

"Actually, yes. He escaped to South Island to make it his new fortress."

"Really? How did that go?" She asked, curious.

"Well," he started. "After Eggman disappeared after we beat him-"

"Wait, Eggman?" She interrupted.

"Robotnik's new nickname. He liked it so much he hasn't called himself "Robotnik" in about two years."

Sally chuckled in response. "Go on." She urged after her laughter died down.

"So as I was saying, after I left to look for him, I asked around a few towns and cities asking if anyone saw him. In one of them, I overheard that the animals on South Island had been turned into robots."

{Flashback}

3 years ago - South Island

After finding out that Robotnik was causing trouble at South Island, Sonic got on the first boat there to find and stop him. When he got to the island, he found that it was crawling with Badniks! There was no doubt about it; Robotnik was here!

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" He heard someone say from above. He looked up and saw an egg-shaped hovercraft. Inside the hovercraft was a bald man with a large mustache, wearing a red jacket, a yellow cape, white gloves, black pants and boots, and blue glasses.

"Robotnik!" Sonic shouted, recognizing his old enemy.

"Glad to see you remember me, but you're far too late!" He gloated. "I've already captured the inhabitants of this island and turned them all into robots! Now this entire island belongs to me!" He then started to laugh triumphantly.

"And that's not all." He added. "This island is home to six legendary artifacts known as the Chaos Emeralds. Once I find them all, the entire world will be at my mercy!" Sonic glared at the mad doctor as he ranted.

"You won't be able to stop me this time, Sonic!" He said as he flew away while laughing maniacally. Sonic turned his attention to the Moto Bugs that were approaching. He got ready to rush through them, determined to stop Robotnik no matter what.

{End Flashback}

"And, long story short, I found the Chaos Emeralds, beat Eggman and returned South Island back to normal."

"I see..." Sally whispered before silence befell the pair again.

Sally was pleased to know Eggman hadn't regained any power like back in Mobotropolis and was more than relieved to hear that Sonic was able to take care of himself. But something was still gnawing at her: why didn't Sonic come back after he defeated Robotnik? Hesitantly, she inhaled deeply before asking the burning question.

"Why didn't you come back?"

The question caught Sonic completely off-guard. "What?"

"Why didn't you come back afterward?" She asked sadly. "You defeated Robotnik and restored South Island, so why didn't you return to Knothole? D-did you..." She choked back a sob as a tear trailed down her cheek. She looked down, unable to look Sonic in the eye. "Did you not care about us anymore? About... me?"

"Sal..." Sonic didn't know what to say. His own girlfriend thought that he didn't care about her or the rest of the Freedom Fighters. And it hurt him. Gently, he put his hand on her cheek and turned her head to face him. "Of course I cared about you." He said in a serious tone. "Of course I wanted to come back."

"So why didn't you?" She asked.

He sighed as he recalled the events that followed. "Well, after I beat him at South Island, I planned on coming back straight away, but I ran into Tails on the way back. Then, I found out that he had taken over West Side Island and found a seventh Chaos Emerald, and built a powerful space station called the Death Egg. So me and Tails went there to stop him, found the seven Chaos Emeralds and destroyed the Death Egg."

"Okay," Sally replied, a little surprised.

"But he wouldn't stop! Before I could even turn my back, he had gone and set up his fortress somewhere else."

He told Sally about all of Eggman's plots over the years: his capture of Little Planet, tricking Knuckles into fighting him, his attempt to control the water god Chaos, everything up until today.

"I lost count of the amount of times I wanted to come back to Knothole, but with Eggman still around, I knew that I couldn't. I had to stop him from taking over the world. That's why I've been away for so long."

"I... see," Sally responded, resting her head on Sonic's shoulder.

Another moment of silence passed before the Blue Blur heard someone crying. He turned his head to find that Sally was crying into his shoulder. "Sal, what's wrong?" He asked.

"All these years, I thought you had forgotten about us." She said shamefully as she cried, her face still buried in her hero's shoulder. "But every day you wished you could come back. I'm so sorry I doubted you."

"Sal, it's okay," Sonic said as he adjusted his position to face her and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back in a comforting manner as she continued to cry on his shoulder.

After a few minutes, Sally's sobs had died down and she lifted herself off of Sonic's shoulder. The two looked into each other's eyes as Sonic wiped the remaining tears from Sally's face.

"Sonic, I'm so sorry." She cried.

"Don't be. " He said gently. "We're together again. We can finally pick up from where we left off."

"You're right. Thank you, Sonic." She whispered as she hugged him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Sal." He replied.

Suddenly, the pair heard a faint ringing noise, causing them to break their embrace. Sonic pulled out a yellow handheld device with a large screen in the middle and pressed a button on the side of it, causing Tails' worried face to show up on the video screen.

"Sonic! Come quick! Eggman's attacking us!"

"On my way!" Sonic replied as he put the device away and got to his feet. He looked at Sally expectantly as she stood up. "Ready?" He asked.

"One second." She said as she pulled two blue ring-like bracelets out of her pockets and attached them around her wrists.

"What are those?" Sonic asked, intrigued.

"You'll find out soon." She said teasingly. Sonic shrugged, scooped Sally up in his arms and raced as fast as he could to Tails' house.

* * *

-Tails' House-

Back at Tails' house, the rest of the Freedom Fighters were fighting off a wave of Badniks. Tails was using a red arm cannon to fire energy blasts at the oncoming robots, while Rotor used his brute strength to smash the robots to pieces. Meanwhile, Antoine was defending himself from the approaching Moto Bugs, slicing any robots who came near him. Unfortunately, with his attention focused on the Moto Bugs in front of him, he was completely oblivious to the Buzz Bombers approaching him from behind.

"Is zat all you have got?" Antoine taunted.

"Antoine, behind you!" Tails shouted, noticing the Buzz Bombers. Antoine turned around and saw the robots approaching, but before he could react, the robots were destroyed by a powerful energy blast. When the debris settled, Bunnie flew down and landed behind Antoine, her robotic arm in its energy cannon form. Antoine returned his attention to the incoming Moto Bugs.

"Merci, Bunnie," He said, without facing Bunnie.

"Don't "mercy" me yet!" She replied. "Just y'all focus on trashin' these Badniks."

At that moment, Sonic had arrived at the house with Sally and, seeing the robots surrounding their friends, jumped into the air and used his Homing Attack on some of the Buzz Bombers before landing on a Moto Bug, smashing it in the process.

"Didn't start the party already, did you?" Sonic said jokingly, setting Sally down gently.

"Sonic!" Tails cheered.

"Hello again, Sonic!" Eggman said, floating down in his Egg Mobile.

"Eggman!" Sonic shouted.

"Wait... Robotnik?" Sally said, astonished by how different the mad genius looked.

"Oh ho ho. Nobody calls me that anymore, my dear." Eggman said. He then moved right in front of Sally to get a better look at her, and suddenly realized who she was.

"I remember you. You're the leader of these rodents, aren't you?"

Before she could answer, Eggman moved his hovercraft back into the air, chuckling sinisterly.

"This is better than I thought. Now I have the perfect way to defeat you, Sonic; crushing your precious princess RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES!" He shouted before breaking into uproarious laughter. When his laughter died down, he snapped his fingers and the robots suddenly started approaching Sally. Antoine rushed in front of her and held his sword out in front of him.

"Do not be worrying, Princess. I will protect you." Antoine said. Sally stepped out in front of Antoine, much to his surprise.

"I can handle a fight, Antoine." Sally sighed.

"Let's just put that to the test, shall we?" Eggman taunted as he snapped his fingers again. "Robots, GET HER!"

The robots started approaching her, but she showed no signs of fear or hesitation. She went into a fighting stance, with her right hand held back. The bracelets on her hands started to glow, but no-one seemed to notice. When one of the Badniks suddenly charged at her, she swung her right hand down on the unsuspecting robot, her bracelet generating a light blue energy blade that sliced the robot in half. Sonic's jaw dropped in surprise.

"So that's what those are." He mused.

Wasting no time, Sally activated the energy blade on her left bracelet and rushed toward the incoming Moto Bugs. Using her blades, she cleared the first horde of robots with little difficulty, her movements powerful yet graceful. She turned her attention to the rest of the Badniks that were advancing towards her, but before she could even lift a finger, Sonic plowed through all the robots with his Spin Dash technique. Stopping in front of the wrecked remains, he turned round to face Sally, and she looked at him with her hand on her hip and a look that said "I had that under control".

"Hey, can't let you hog all the fun, Sal." He teased, causing the princess to roll her eyes and smile. Eggman, after watching his blue nemesis destroy the remainder of his Badniks, growled in anger and humiliation, looking over his shoulder at the Freedom Fighters.

"This isn't over, Freedom Fighters!" Eggman called out as he began to leave. "Mark my words, I will destroy you!" And with that, the mad doctor flew back to his base while the Freedom Fighters all high-fived each other. When Eggman disappeared from sight, Sally began to yawn.

"I don't know about you guys, but I need to lie down. I've had a long day." She said.

"If you're going to rest, there's a spare bedroom you can use." Tails said. Sally nodded in understanding before turning back to face Sonic.

"See you later." She said as she kissed his cheek before walking into the house, leaving Sonic with a very noticeable blush across his muzzle.

"Uh, Sonic?" Tails said, getting the hedgehog's attention.

"Yeah, Tails?" Sonic asked.

"You do know you'll have to introduce her to Amy at some point, right?"

Sonic's jaw practically hit the ground. His face carried an expression somewhere between shock and absolute horror.

"Aw, crud." He muttered.


	3. Catching Up, Part 1

-Emerald Town-  
  
It had been a week since the Freedom Fighters had reunited with Sonic and Tails. Since then, they had caught up on most of the events that happened after Sonic left; Sonic explaining his extended absence to the rest of the Freedom Fighters, and Sally explaining more about how her family was helping to restore Mobotropolis. They had also built a new base of operations, which also doubled as a home-away-from-home for the Freedom Fighters.  
  
Sonic was currently in the middle of his morning run around Emerald Town. He eventually came to a sudden stop when he saw a familiar young female rabbit. The hedgehog immediately recognized the girl as Cream, one of Sonic and Tails' closest friends. The young rabbit noticed Sonic and waved to him, smiling happily.  
  
"Hi, Mr. Sonic." Cream greeted happily.  
  
"Oh, hi, Cream." He replied. "You here by yourself? Your mom doesn't usually let you go anywhere on your own."  
  
"No, I'm waiting for Amy." She replied. "She dropped her..."  
  
"Wait. Amy's here?" He asked nervously.  
  
"SONIC!" Shouted a voice that was all too familiar to the blue hedgehog. Sonic barely had time to even blink when he was suddenly pulled into a nearly bone-breaking hug from behind by Amy Rose.  
  
"Oh Sonic, I missed you so much!" Amy cried.  
  
"Amy! Please let go!" Sonic choked. Amy realized that she was hurting him and immediately let go.  
  
"Sorry. Where have you been for the past week? I was worried that something happened to you." She said.  
  
"No, I was just... catching up with some old friends," Sonic said, rubbing his chest.  
  
"What? Well, why didn't you say so? Could I meet them?"  
  
Sonic's heart nearly stopped at those words. "That, uh... that might not be such a good idea." He said nervously.  
  
"Oh, come on. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine." Amy said as she started walking away with Cream following her. Sonic started to get nervous.  
  
"This is not gonna go well," Sonic muttered to himself.  
  


* * *

  
-Tails' House-  
  
Sonic walked back to Tails' house with Amy and Cream in tow. It would have been much quicker by running since Amy could easily keep up with him, but since Cream was with them, they had to walk at a pace that the young rabbit could keep up with. The trio didn't have far to walk, however, and they were at the house. A few meters away from the house, however, was a building that was unfamiliar to the two girls, but Sonic knew exactly what it was; the new Freedom Fighter HQ.  
  
It was a tall cylindrical brick building with two floors and a metal dome-shaped roof. Above the door was a sign with the letters "FF" written on it in blue. The building looked nearly identical to the one back in Knothole, except this one was bigger.  
  
"Weird," Amy remarked. "I don't remember this building being here."  
  
"Well, remember those 'old friends' I told you about?" Sonic replied. "They needed a place to stay, so we've been breakin' our backs building this thing."  
  
"Wait, you built this? In one week?" Amy asked, amazed.  
  
"Well, not by myself, but yeah. Come on. They should be inside." He said, trying not to sound nervous at the last part. Once Amy nodded, he opened the door and the two entered the building. "Hey, guys." He greeted as he came in. Rotor was moving a box of mechanical parts to another room in the building, while Bunnie and Antoine were talking to each other. Bunnie immediately turned her head round to face Sonic upon hearing his voice.  
  
"Hey, Sonic. Who's the new girl?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"Guys, this is Amy. Amy, these are my friends. Rotor, Antoine and Bunnie."  
  
"Howdy." Bunnie greeted. Antoine said nothing but bowed respectfully.  
  
"What... what happened to your arm and legs?" Amy asked, noticing the rabbit's cybernetic limbs.  
  
"Robotnik stuck me in one o' his Roboticizers, but Sonic saved me from goin' all robot."  
  
"Oh..." She whispered sympathetically. She knew how she must have felt, considering she was trapped in one in the past.  
  
"So, uh... Sally's not here?" Sonic asked awkwardly.  
  
"No. Haven't seen her since this mornin'" Bunnie replied.  
  
"Who's Sally?" Amy asked suddenly.  
  
"She's the leader of the Freedom Fighters. She's also..." Bunnie stopped herself when she noticed Sonic shaking his head frantically behind Amy's back. Luckily for Sonic, she caught on that he didn't want Amy to know about his and Sally's relationship. "She's an ol' friend o' Sonic's." Sonic inwardly sighed in relief.  
  
"Right. Well, we gotta go. See ya!" He said rather hastily as he grabbed Amy's wrist and pulled her through the door. As they came out of the building, however, Sonic literally walked right into Sally, causing both to bash their heads together and stumble backward from the collision.  
  
"Ah! Sorry, Sal." Sonic said, rubbing his forehead.  
  
"It's okay. I'm fine." She said.  
  
The two came out of their embarrassed stupor by the sound of Amy clearing her throat. "And this is...?" She asked, curious.  
  
'Crud.' Sonic thought to himself. He was hoping to tell Sally about Amy so she wouldn't let her relationship with Sonic slip out. He had no choice now but to introduce her and hope for the best. "Amy, this is Sally. She's the princess of Mobotropolis, leader, and tactician of the Freedom Fighters, and-"  
  
"Wait! Did you just say princess?" Amy shouted, cutting Sonic off.  
  
"Err... I did, yes." Amy turned back to Sally and curtseyed politely.  
  
"Y-Your Highness, it's an honor to meet you." She blurted. Sally couldn't help but giggle. Amy was acting the exact same way Sonic did when he first found out that she was a princess.  
  
"There's really no need for that," Sally said. As she got up, Amy noticed a grey metal object hanging from Sally's side.  
  
"What's that?" Amy asked,  
  
Sally took the object off the clip on her belt and opened it, revealing it to be a small handheld computer. "This is Nicole."  
  
"You... named your own computer?"  
  
"Nicole's an artificial intelligence," Sally responded, receiving a quizzical look from the pink hedgehog. "Don't ask. It's a long story."  
  
"Um, Miss Amy?" Cream called out, catching the attention of the three. Sally walked towards her and knelt down to her eye level.  
  
"Hello. What's your name?" Sally asked the young rabbit.  
  
"This is Cream. She's a close friend of mine." Amy answered for her, before turning to the young girl. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I have to go now. My mom will worry if I don't go back home soon."  
  
"I'll go with you, Cream," Amy said before turning back to Sally. "It was nice meeting you."  
  
"Likewise," Sally replied. She then watched Amy leave with Cream. When she left, Sally turned around and glared at Sonic. "Care to explain what that was all about?"  
  
"Well, she's the girl I rescued back on Little Planet. Since then she's had the biggest crush on me." Sonic sighed.  
  
"I see. And just when were you planning on telling her that you already have a girlfriend?" She asked, almost accusingly.  
  
"I did!" He replied defensively. "Loads of times. She doesn't believe me."  
  
"How not?"  
  
"Well, she once tried to make me jealous by pretending she started seeing someone else, but I saw right through it. So when I told her about you, she thought I was getting back at her."  
  
"Okay." She said, believing him. She could tell when he was lying since he was really bad at it. "Still, I think we need to tell her."  
  
"That might not be a good idea."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, basically, if Amy found out I was already going out with someone else, she would go ballistic." Sally was confused as to what he meant but felt it best to take his word for it.  
  
"Right. Well, thanks for the heads-up." She said before walking away, leaving the blue hedgehog rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.  
  
"Well, that could have gone a lot worse." He muttered.  
  


* * *

  
Later that day...  
-Emerald Town-  
  
Sally and Bunnie were currently walking through the streets of Emerald Town. They weren't heading anywhere in particular, they just decided to go for a walk. Bunnie wanted to see how big Emerald Town actually was, while Sally needed to clear her mind. She had recently been introduced to Sonic's biggest fan, Amy Rose. The girl had more admiration for the blue hero than even Tails.  
  
"Somethin' on your mind, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"Just thinking about something that happened earlier today," Sally replied.  
  
"Ya mean Sonic introducin' ya to Amy?"  
  
"Yes. He told me not to tell Amy about... us, in case she went 'ballistic'."  
  
"Oh yeah. Tails was tellin' me 'bout that. He told me she once clobbered a massive robot by herself for hurtin' Sonic."  
  
"By herself?" She asked.  
  
"Well, so I've been told." She replied before chuckling. "Wouldn't like ta get on her bad side."  
  
"Right..." She muttered. "Well, I was thinking. Maybe we could ask her to..."  
  
Their conversation was cut short by the sound of someone calling out to them. "Sally! Bunnie!" The two looked behind them to see Amy Rose running up to them.  
  
"Speak of the devil..." Sally whispered sheepishly as Amy caught up to them.  
  
"Hi Sal- I mean, good afternoon, Princess Sally," Amy said awkwardly, almost forgetting that she was talking to a princess.  
  
"Just Sally is fine," Sally responded. "I don't take my title that seriously, to be honest. So, Amy. How long have you and Sonic known each other?" She asked.  
  
"About three years," Amy responded. "Why?"  
  
"Just asking. You two seem really close." She replied. The confused look from Amy encouraged her to try and change the subject. "So, if you don't mind me asking, how did you and Sonic meet?"  
  
"Well, it was about three years ago when we first met. I was just visiting Little Planet when suddenly the whole planet turned to metal. I was trying to find out what had happened, and that's when I met him. From the first time we met, I knew that we were destined to be together. Of course, he was in such a rush that I barely had any time to say hello. I managed to catch up to him at another part of Little Planet, then when my back was turned, I was kidnapped by a robot called Metal Sonic!"  
  
"Metal Sonic?" Sally asked.  
  
"Yeah. It's a robot that Dr. Eggman built to destroy Sonic." Amy said almost dismissively. "Anyways, Metal Sonic took me to this scary fortress called the Metallic Madness Zone, where Dr. Eggman kept me prisoner. But luckily Sonic defeated him, saved me, and restored Little Planet to its former glory. And ever since that day, I promised I would follow him no matter where he went so that I could always be with my hero."  
  
"Okay..." Sally muttered, a little perturbed by Amy's gushing over Sonic.  
  
"So, what about you?" Amy asked as she turned around.  
  
"Pardon?" Sally asked.  
  
"How did you and Sonic meet each other?" Amy asked.  
  
"Uh, well..." Sally said, trying to recall the event.  
  
Before she could answer, however, a giant metal hand suddenly grabbed Amy, pinning her arms to her sides. "What the-" Was all she could mutter as the arm pulled back, lifting her off the ground and into the air screaming. The two didn't have to wonder what was happening for long, as Eggman's Egg Mobile came floating down with Amy in its metallic clutches.  
  
"It's been a while, Princess."  
  
"Eggman," Sally said rather venomously.  
  
"Ya'll let 'er go right this instant!" Bunnie demanded.  
  
"Why don't you make me?" He scoffed. "Robots, ATTACK!" Upon his command, multiple Moto Bugs and Buzz Bombers surrounded the two girls.  
  
"I've got the left side. Bunnie, you take the right." Sally said. The two split up immediately and attacked the offending robots. Bunnie's cybernetic arm morphed into its energy cannon form and she fired at the Moto Bugs. Once they were cleared out, she jumped back a bit to avoid fire from the nearby Buzz Bombers. She tried using her blaster arm to destroy them, but they just avoided her energy blasts. Using the rocket boosters built into her feet, she flew up and shot energy blasts at the Buzz Bombers, destroying them.  
  
Meanwhile, Sally was destroying the Moto Bugs surrounding her, using her Ring Blades to slice the robots apart. She then backflipped and landed on top of a Moto Bug that tried to ram into her from behind. Noticing a Buzz Bomber flying towards her in an attempt to tackle her, she jumped off of the Moto Bug and onto the back of the Buzz Bomber. She then drove one of her energy blades into its back, causing it to lose control of its flight. Grabbing its head with one hand while keeping the energy blade lodged in its back, Sally was able to steer the Buzz Bomber so that it was now heading towards a group of four Moto Bugs. She took the energy blade out of the robot's back and jumped off, landing safely on the ground while the Buzz Bomber crashed into and destroyed the Moto Bugs behind her.  
  
Unbeknownst to Sally, Eggman was charging up the main blaster on his Egg Mobile and was currently aiming at her. However, Bunnie noticed this and immediately broke off from her fight to rush to Sally's aid.  
  
"Light's out, Princess" Eggman whispered as he fired a blast of electric energy at Sally.  
  
Before the blast could hit her, Bunnie pushed her out of the way. The electric blast hit Bunnie, and she fell to the ground, unable to move and nearly unconscious. Eggman then pressed another button on the Egg Mobile's control terminal and another metallic arm extended out from the right side of the Egg Mobile and picked up the helpless Freedom Fighter.  
  
"Bunnie!" Sally called out as she saw Bunnie being grabbed by the metal arm. "Let them go!" She demanded.  
  
"If you want them, come and get them." Eggman taunted, floating away and out of her reach. "And bring your hedgehog bodyguard with you." Eggman then turned the Egg Mobile around and flew back to his base. Deciding she needed Sonic's help for this, she ran as fast as she could to Tails' house

* * *

  
  
-Tails' House-  
  
Meanwhile, Sonic was sitting on the couch, thinking about the events that occurred earlier. He was glad that Amy didn't suspect anything about him and Sally, but if she did find out... yikes.  
  
"So, how'd it go?"  
  
Sonic nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice. He turned around and found that the owner of the voice was Tails. Sonic was confused as to what the young fox meant, but once he recovered from his shock he caught on that he was asking about Amy.  
  
"Well, better than I thought." He mused. "Wait how did you know about it?"  
  
"Bunnie told me." Tails replied.  
  
Before the two could continue, the front door suddenly flew open and a very distressed Sally came rushing through. She was visibly exhausted and was trying to catch her breath.  
  
"Guys... Need help... Amy... Bunnie... Eggman... " She panted, gasping for air between each word.  
  
"Calm down, Sal," Sonic said, gently holding the princess by her shoulders. "Breathe."  
  
Sally complied and took a minute to catch her breath. "Eggman attacked us and captured Amy and Bunnie!"  
  
"What?!" Sonic shouted in shock. "Where are they now?"  
  
"He said he was taking them to his base, but I have no idea where it is," Sally replied.  
  
"Not a problem. Tails, start up the Tornado." Sonic said.  
  
"The Tornado?" Sally asked, curious.  
  
"Yeah, my plane. Come on, I'll show you." Tails said excitedly as he ran through the doorway leading to his workshop. Despite the situation at hand, Sally couldn't help but smile at Tails' excitement. She and Sonic followed Tails into the garage, which Tails designed to double as a workshop.  
  
"Here she is!" Tails said as he stood in front of a plane. It was a small, vintage-style red biplane with two white wings and a silver propeller.  
  
"Wow! Did you build this, Tails?" Sally asked, amazed.  
  
"Yup!" Tails replied.  
  
"Alright, let's go!" Sonic said. As Tails got into the pilot's seat, Sally noticed that there were only two seats on the plane.  
  
"Wait! There are only two seats. Where will you sit?" Sally asked.  
  
Sonic jumped onto the top wing of the Tornado. "Right here!"  
  
"On the wing of the plane? Isn't that dangerous?" She asked.  
  
"Don't worry, Aunt Sally. He does it all the time." Tails assured her.  
  
"Okay, then..." She sighed. She didn't exactly approve of his reckless and impulsive actions most of the time, but she was relieved that Sonic could keep his balance on a moving plane. She got into the passenger seat of the Tornado, and Tails opened the garage door.  
  
"Let's get going!" Sonic said. "The girls have waited long enough."  
  
  
To be continued...


	4. Catching Up, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an ambush that resulted in Amy and Bunnie being kidnapped by Eggman, Sonic and his friends rush towards Eggman's base to save them, unaware that the doctor has a rather nasty surprise in store for them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Eggman's Base-  
  
Bunnie slowly opened her eyes, having recovered somewhat from being knocked out. She was laying on a hard metal floor, in the middle of a featureless, dimly lit room. She slowly rose to her knees, feeling too weak to stand. Eggman's energy blast had left her very disoriented.  
  
"Oooh... Where am Ah?" She muttered, clutching her head.  
  
"So, you finally decided to wake up." A familiar voice called out to her. The lights suddenly turned on in the room to reveal that the one who spoke was none other than Dr. Eggman. At his sides were his two robot minions, Orbot and Cubot. Eggman smirked evilly as he walked towards Bunnie.  
  
"Robotnik!" She growled as she tried to get up, only for her to realize she couldn't move her robotic limbs.  
  
"Feeling a little numb, are we?" He taunted.  
  
"Why aren't mah limbs movin'?" She asked him defiantly.  
  
"I'm glad you asked. See, I've planted a microchip on you where you can't reach it." He explained. "As long as you have that on you, I have full control over what your mechanical appendages." Bunnie immediately figured out what Eggman was planning to do with her; he was going to make her attack her friends!  
  
"You wouldn't." She said.  
  
"Oh, wouldn't I?" Eggman retorted looking down at her.  
  
"Sir, it appears that Sonic and Tails are approaching," Orbot called out, interrupting the two.  
  
"Perfect," Eggman said as he took a remote device from Cubot and pressed a button on it, causing Bunnie's mechanical limbs to move on their own and force her to stand.  
  
"This is going to be great! I can't wait to see the look on Sonic's face when I turn one of his closest friends against him!"  


* * *

  
-Outside Eggman's Base-  
  
Tails landed the plane on the ground several meters away from Eggman's fortress. When the plane came to a stop, Sally stepped out of the passenger seat and Sonic jumped off the wing of the plane. She looked up at the fortress. The main part of the fortress was a massive dome-like structure with a massive tower jutting out from the middle of it. It had a large wall-like structure surrounding it, with large cylindrical tower-like structures at each corner.  
  
"Tails, stay here and keep the Tornado ready to go when we get out," Sonic said.  
  
"You got it!" Tails replied eagerly. Sonic ran to Sally and stopped next to her as she looked at the large metal door.  
  
"So, what's the plan? Charge in, guns blazing?" Sally asked jokingly.  
  
"Well, if you want to try the sneaky way in, there should be a vent around there." He responded, pointing towards the wall. Nodding, the two ran towards the wall and began looking for the vent. After a few moments of searching, Sally spotted a rather large metal grille.  
  
"Found it." She called out as she used her energy blades to cut the grille off, revealing the air vent. It was big enough to crawl through, but only one of them would be able to go through at a time. Sally crawled in first, with Sonic following her lead after she crawled all the way in.  
  
"You'd have thought Eggman would have sealed this thing off," Sally said to the blue hedgehog behind her.  
  
"Well, I barely ever go this way, so I doubt he'd expect it." He admitted.  
  
"Now, why doesn't that surprise me?" She rhetorically asked with an amused chuckle.  
  
"Hey, the breaking and entering thing works fine for me." He responded matter-of-factly. "I mean, why change it if it works?" Rolling her eyes, Sally decided to focus on the path ahead. She eventually saw another grille on the bottom wall of the vent. She used her Ring Blades to cut it out, and it fell out of the vent, landing on a hapless Moto-Bug patrolling under it, disabling the robot. Sally then dropped down and landed on the grille, crushing the Moto-Bug underneath her. She stood up and pulled Nicole out as Sonic landed behind her.  
  
"Nicole, can you hack into Eggman's security cameras to find Amy and Bunnie?" Sally asked.  
  
"Let me see..." Nicole responded, flicking through several surveillance images before stopping on one that showed Amy trapped in a metal ring that pinned her arms to her body. "I've found Amy."  
  
"And Bunnie?" Sally asked.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't find her."  
  
"Don't worry, we'll find her. For now, I need you to pinpoint Amy's location."  
  
"Right away, Sally," Nicole said as she switched her screen to a map of the fortress, highlighting Sally and Sonic's position with a blue marker and Amy's location with a flashing green marker.  
  
The two ran to the room Amy was in, the door opening automatically as they approached. As they entered the room, they saw Amy trapped in a metal ring.  
  
"Sonic! Sally!" Amy cried.  
  
"Amy!" The two called out as they ran to her to free her.  
  
But before they could do so, someone shouted "Incoming!" from across the room, giving Sonic and Sally just enough time to move out of the way of whatever was flying towards them. The speeding blur rushed past the two before crashing into the wall, revealing that the live projectile was, in fact, Bunnie.  
  
"Bunnie? What are you doing?!"  
  
"Hold up! Ah can explain everythin'!" Bunnie called out before her arm morphed into its blaster form and fired an energy blast on its own. The two had just enough time to jump to the side to avoid it.  
  
"Are your cybernetics going haywire again?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Uh, ya could say that!"  
  
Out of nowhere, the four heard an evil maniacal laugh. They all turned their heads to see Dr. Eggman standing in the open doorway.  
  
"Eggman! What did you do to Bunnie?" Sally growled  
  
"Simple, I placed a microchip on her that allows me to remotely control her cybernetic limbs. So as long as it remains on her body, I'm the one in control of her actions." He gloated, unaware that Amy was staring at Bunnie with a strange look on her face. "And the best part? None of you have any idea where it-"  
  
"It's on the back of her jacket!" Amy suddenly shouted, causing Sonic and Sally to turn around and spot a small, grey object on the back of Bunnie's jacket. Bunnie was trying to turn her head around to see it.  
  
"Do you have to ruin everything?" Eggman shouted, fuming. "Ah, no matter. Bunnie, ATTACK!" He shouted, pressing a button on his device, causing Bunnie to suddenly turn around and face Sonic and Sally before charging at them. Sonic jumped over the incoming cyborg while Sally jumped to the side to avoid her. When Sonic landed behind her, Bunnie's legs forced her to turn around while her arm changed into its blaster form and aimed at Sonic. Before it could fire, however, Sonic kicked the blaster arm away so that it was aiming in the other direction. The blaster fired, and the energy blast shot past Eggman, who flinched as he was nearly hit by it.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Eggman shouted. He pressed another button on the controller, and Bunnie's arm and legs sprang back into action. The two resumed fighting, Sonic being able to avoid any attacks that Bunnie's haywire limbs could attempt, while Eggman watched with great enjoyment.  
  
Fortunately, Eggman was so focused on the fight that he didn't notice Sally sneak past him and approach the still imprisoned Amy. Amy opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she saw Sally put a finger up to her lips, signaling for her to keep quiet. She went behind Amy and activated her Ring-Blades.  
  
"Stay very still." She whispered as she dug her Ring-Blade into the metal ring keeping Amy imprisoned. Sally had to be very slow and careful, as if she made a mistake, she could end up hurting Amy. Amy could feel the intense heat given off by the Ring-Blades cutting through the metal ring on her back and tried her best to not make any sudden movements.  
  
Meanwhile, Sonic managed to avoid a sweep kick from Bunnie by jumping over her, but Eggman anticipated this and had Bunnie's arm swing round in an attempt to punch him while he was in the air. Sonic, either by an absurd amount of skill or just sheer luck, managed to land both of his feet on Bunnie's metallic fist and propelled himself off of it. He spun around in the air before landing on the wall, defying gravity for a split second to jump off of the wall to spin dash into Bunnie. Her robotic arm managed to catch the spinning hedgehog, completely blocking his attack before tossing him out of her grasp. Sonic managed to land on his feet after being thrown by her. Bunnie couldn't help but be impressed by Sonic's incredibly quick reflexes.  
  
One of her legs spun round to kick him, but Sonic countered with a kick of his own, the two colliding by the ankles and stopping each other. The two stayed in that position for a few seconds, before Sonic suddenly started hopping up and down while holding his ankle with a pained look on his face.  
  
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Sonic cried out. "That was a bad idea!"  
  
Sonic managed to recover in time to avoid another kick from Bunnie by ducking under, and he sweep kicked her right leg, causing Bunnie to lose her balance and fall flat on her face.  
  
"Ow!" The poor rabbit cried out as she held her right hand up to her face. "Could ya please be a bit more careful?"  
  
"Sorry," Sonic muttered sheepishly as Bunnie got back up.  
  
As Eggman prepared to have Bunnie attack again, the three of them heard a metal clang, and they turned their heads to see that Sally had freed Amy from her metal bindings, and Amy now had her hammer in her hands.  
  
"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!" Eggman groaned. "Well, no matter. Now that I have your strongest fighter, I can easily crush all three of you." He said as he pressed another button on his controller.  
  
"Oh, here we go," Bunnie said in a deadpan tone as the rocket boosters in her feet forced her to move, this time towards Sally and Amy. Amy swung her hammer and it collided with Bunnie's metal fist, sending the cyborg flying backward into a wall. Bunnie was genuinely surprised at the young hedgehog's strength. Before she could get up, Sonic raced behind her and pinned her arms behind her back. Amy rushed over to help Sonic restrain Bunnie while Sally took Nicole out of her holster.  
  
"Don't worry, Bunnie," Sally said. "I promise this won't hurt."  
  
Sally held Nicole in front of the microchip, and a small green spark appeared between Nicole and the device. Bunnie felt her legs and left arm deactivate as the device lost its control over them. Once the spark disappeared, Sally took the device off Bunnie's jacket, threw it to the floor and stomped on it, crushing it under her foot. As she did so, Bunnie regained feeling in her arm and legs and moved her arm around. She smiled, ecstatic that she could control her actions again and that she would no longer have to fight her friends. She got up and hugged Sally tightly.  
  
"Thanks, Sal!" Bunnie cried.  
  
"You're welcome," Sally replied.  
  
"Uh, guys?" Amy called. The others turned their attention to the horde of robots that had now surrounded them and got into their battle-ready stance.  
  
"So, what now?" Amy asked.  
  
"We got what we came for. Now let's get out of here." Sonic said. Without warning, he picked up Sally and sped out of the room, with Amy and Bunnie following and the robots attempting to give chase.  
  
  
Outside, Tails was sitting in the pilot's seat of the Tornado, playing a game on his Miles Electric. His focus was quickly broken by the sound of metal doors opening, and he turned his head to see Sonic and the others quickly running towards the Tornado.  
  
Quickly putting the Miles Electric away, Tails started the Tornado's engine. Once they got to the plane, Sonic turned to Amy.  
  
"Amy, you go in the seat behind Tails." He said. As Amy climbed into the passenger seat, Sonic turned to face Bunnie. "Bunnie, you okay to fly?"  
  
"Should be," Bunnie replied.  
  
"Wait, where am I-" Sally couldn't finish her sentence as Sonic picked her up, jumped onto the wing of the Tornado, and set her down.  
  
"Sonic, are you serious? What if I fall off?" Sally shouted, a touch of panic in her voice.  
  
"Just hold on and you'll be fine," Sonic assured her, one hand gripping the edge of the wing.  
  
Not wanting to argue, Sally complied and held onto the edge of the wing with both hands. As if on cue, the Tornado started moving and took off.  
  
Once the Tornado was in the air, Sonic turned to Sally, who still had her eyes tightly shut, and chuckled.  
  
"You can open your eyes now." He said to her. She opened her eyes, but she still kept her tight grip on the wing.  
  
"See? It's just like sitting in the passenger seat, except you don't have someone's head in the way." Sonic told her.  
  
Sally adjusted her position so that she was sitting on the wing.  
  
"This is... actually pretty fun." Sally gasped.

* * *

  
  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
The Tornado had landed back at Tails' house, and the group was currently standing next to the plane, relaxing after the tense confrontation.  
  
"Don't you think the Tornado will be very inefficient if we need to carry the whole team?" Sally asked.  
  
"Well, Rotor and I are designing another method of transportation that will be able to carry the entire team." Tails replied. "It's still being built, but it shouldn't be too long before it's ready."  
  
"You know, I sometimes wonder where you get the materials to build all this" Sonic said.  
  
"Destroying Eggman's robots for more than two years does give me a lot of scrap metal to work with." Tails responded.  
  
As Sonic and Tails continued to talk, Sally noticed Amy on her own. She went over to check on her.  
  
"Are you okay?" Sally asked, surprising Amy.  
  
"Of course," Amy replied. "I've been in far worse situations than that."  
  
"Well, thanks for your help back there," Sally said. After a few seconds, Amy suddenly gasped in shock  
  
"I have to go. I promised Cream I'd take her to the park. I'll see you later." Amy said as she suddenly burst into a run. "Bye, Sonic!" She called as she left.  
  
After Amy left, Sally stood still, completely deep in thought. She couldn't help but think back to earlier that day when Amy mentioned in full detail her feelings for Sonic. Did Sonic feel the same way? Sure, he said that they were just friends, but there was still a little part of her that was still unsure. And then there were Sonic's claims of Amy's 'temper'. Would they have to keep their feelings for each other a secret?  
  
"Ya'll okay there, Sal?" Bunnie asked. Sally jumped at the familiar voice of her friend. She hadn't even noticed her appear next to her.  
  
"I'm fine. I was just lost in thought." Sally claimed. "I should be asking you if you're okay. You've been through quite a lot today."  
  
"Ah'm fine. Ah've had far worse than that." Bunnie replied, before rubbing her forehead. "But now that ya'll mention it, Ah am pretty exhausted. Ah think Ah'm gonna lie down for a while."  
  
"Ok then," Sally said as she allowed Bunnie to walk past her and into the house. She looked up at the sky, which was now beginning to grow dark as the sun began to set.  
  
"It has been a long day." She said to herself.


	5. The Island in the Sky, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knuckles, after repelling an attack from Eggman's forces, begins to question what Eggman has planned. Fearing the worst, he decides to call on Sonic for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Angel Island-  
  
  
Knuckles the Echidna was defending the Altar of the Emeralds from the horde of Egg Pawns that were attempting to climb the stairway and reach the shrine. Eggman had launched an attack on the island in an attempt to retrieve the Master Emerald. Knuckles didn't know what Eggman wanted the Master Emerald for, nor did he care.  
  
Within minutes, the stairway and the ground surrounding the altar was littered with the remains of Eggman's fallen robot soldiers. Knuckles walked down the stairs, dusting his hands and kicking away robot pieces as he did so.  
  
"Jeez, talk about a mess! Eggman never liked cleaning up after himself." He joked before he heard a rather loud humming noise. He looked up and saw a dropship flying away from the island. It looked like it was heading back to Eggman's base.  
  
"Good riddance." Knuckles said. He turned his head around and looked at the wrecked robots.  
  
"Looks like Eggman's run out of robots to send." He chuckled triumphantly, before turning his head back and frowning in thought. "Unless..." He whispered.  
  
Knuckles started to feel uneasy. He knew Eggman would use every resource he had if it meant getting the Master Emerald, but now he had sent fewer robots than usual.  
  
As the guardian of Angel Island, it was his duty to guard the Master Emerald and keep the island afloat. If the Master Emerald were to be stolen, the island would lose power and fall into the ocean, and while the impact might not destroy the island outright, it could still cause heavy damage to the island and, by extension, the shrine.  
  
"Looks like I don't have much of a choice." he thought to himself as he took out a Warp Ring and threw it into the air, creating a large portal in front of him, and wasting no time, he jumped into it.

* * *

  
-Emerald Town-  
  
  
Sonic and Sally walked through the streets of Emerald Town. She had bumped into him during his morning run, and the two decided to walk back to Tails' house together. Along the way, Sally decided to talk to Sonic about something.  
  
"Sonic, can I ask you something?" Sally asked.  
  
"Sure. Go ahead." He replied.  
  
"Well, what's going on between you and Amy?" The question caught Sonic a little off guard.  
  
"Ok..." He started. "Amy is a really good friend, but... well, she can be a bit much. I have tried to tell her that I don't like her like that, but she either interrupts me or flat out ignores me."  
  
"Sonic, we can't keep... this a secret forever. We have to tell her at some point."  
  
"I know, but..."  
  
Out of nowhere, a large portal appeared in front of the two, startling them. Almost as soon as it appeared, a red echidna with large white gloves that had spikes on the knuckles appeared from the portal.  
  
"Knuckles?" Sonic said.  
  
"Sonic, I need your help." Knuckles replied. "Eggman's after the Master Emerald again!"  
  
"Again?!" Sonic shouted in annoyance. "That guy never just gives up."  
  
"Wait, what's the Master Emerald?" Sally asked, curious.  
  
"Well, remember the Chaos Emeralds I told you about?" Sonic replied. "The Master Emerald is like that, only bigger and more powerful." As he explained, Knuckles looked at Sally curiously.  
  
"Who's this? A new friend?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Old friend, actually," Sonic said. "This is Sally."  
  
"The introductions can wait for now," Sally replied.  
  
"Alright, alright." "Don't worry, Knux. We'll get the team and be at Angel Island as soon as we can."  
  
"Thank you." Knuckles said as he threw his Warp Ring into the air and it turned into a portal. He turned round to look at Sonic. "And hurry. We don't have much time." And with that, he turned back and jumped into the portal, closing it behind him.  
  
"This sounds urgent." Sally said.  
  
"Yeah, anything involving the words 'Eggman' and 'Master Emerald' can't be good," Sonic replied. "Let's hurry."  
  
Sonic picked up Sally and dashed at high speed back to Tails' house.  


* * *

  
Minutes later...  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
The Freedom Fighters were gathered around the centre table in the Freedom Fighter HQ, or the "Barracks" as they had recently started calling it.  
  
"Angel Island?" Tails asked.  
  
"Yep. Eggman's after the Master Emerald again." Sonic said in a somewhat annoyed tone.  
  
"The what?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"We'll discuss details on the way," Sally replied. "We'll need to use the Freedom Fighter Jet to reach the island."  
  
Before Sally could say any more, Antoine got up and bowed down in front of Sally, much to the princess's surprise and embarrassment.  
  
"Do not fear, my princess. I shall ensure zat no harm comes to you." The coyote vowed.  
  
"Uh... thanks, Antoine," Sally said hesitantly. "But I don't really need a bodyguard." Antoine opened his mouth to speak, but Sonic spoke first.  
  
"Antoine, we're kind of in a rush here." Sonic interrupted.  
  
"Uh... Very well," Antoine replied.  
  
"Alright then. Let's move." Sally said. The team gave an enthusiastic cheer as they left to prepare... except for Bunnie, who was looking at Antoine from across the room with a sad expression on her face. Rotor noticed and cleared his throat, catching Bunnie's attention.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Rotor asked.  
  
"No, it's fine," Bunnie said as she left.  
  
Minutes later, most of the Freedom Fighters were seated in the Freedom Fighter Jet and ready to go. The Freedom Fighter Jet, so-called until they could think of a name for it, was built to carry a high number of people in case the entire team needed to be transported at once. Tails and Rotor were in the cockpit, while Antione and Bunnie were in the seating area. Sonic and Sally were about to enter.  
  
"Sonic!" They heard someone shout behind them. They turned around and saw Amy running towards them and waving. "What's going on here?" She asked as she caught up to them.  
  
"Hey, Amy," Sonic replied. "Eggman's launching an attack on Angel Island so he can get the Master Emerald. We're going over there to stop him."  
  
"Again? Well, can I come with you?" Amy asked, partly because she wanted to stop Eggman, but also because she was hoping to spend time with Sonic.  
  
"Of course. We'd appreciate the extra help." Sally said. This caused the pink hedgehog to immediately pull the two into a tight hug, then rush into the jet. Sonic and Sally both stood shocked for a few seconds before continuing into the jet. Once everyone was in the jet, they took off.  
  
"We'll arrive at Angel Island in a few minutes. That gives us time for a quick mission briefing." Tails said. "Nicole, display the map of Angel Island, please."  
  
A 3-D holographic map of Angel Island appeared.  
  
"This is Angel Island." Tails continued. "It was home to an ancient tribe that disappeared four thousand years ago. There's an altar in the middle of the island which houses the Master Emerald, and the energy from the Emerald allows the island to stay airborne. If it's removed from the altar, the island will plummet into the ocean."  
  
"Eggman seems to have a keen interest in the Master Emerald," Sally added. "Whatever he wants it for, it cannot be good. So our mission is to defend Angel Island and stop him from getting it."  
  
"Tell us something we don't know." Sonic joked, causing Sally to roll her eyes in mild amusement.  
  
"Right, anyway..." Sally continued. "There's a large enemy signal heading towards Angel Island. That should be Eggman's forces."  
  
"Well, good to hear we won't be making the trip for nothin'," Sonic replied. "How long 'til it reaches the island?"  
  
"About forty-five minutes, according to my calculations." Tails said.  
  
"So the plan is to land at the shrine an' wait for Eggman's robots to show up?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"Not exactly. Given the size of this jet, we can't land next to the shrine without damaging it, and the rock formations around the area will make it next to impossible to land. However, there's a path that leads up to the shrine. That's the closest place we can safely land." As Tails said this, the map zoomed in to show the altar and the aforementioned path, the start of which was highlighted by a red dot. Meanwhile, Tails had noticed a familiar floating mass of land not too far from the jet.  
  
"Speaking of which, here we are." He said.  


* * *

  
Minutes later...  
-Altar of the Emeralds-  
  
  
After landing and several minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at the Altar of the Emeralds. "Well, here we are," Sonic said. Sally looked around, examining the broken pillars surrounding the ruins.  
  
"This is not what I was expecting," Sally admitted.  
  
The group noticed Knuckles standing at the foot of the stairs. "Knuckles!" Tails shouted. The echidna turned to see Sonic, Tails and Amy, as well as the newly-met Sally and three others who he was not familiar with. He walked down from the shrine and towards the approaching group.  
  
"About time you got here." Knuckles said to Sonic before looking curiously at his new companions. "These guys friends of yours?" He inquired.  
  
"Oh, right! Well, you've already met Sally." Sonic replied as he gestured to Sally, then to the other three Freedom Fighters as he continued. "This is Rotor, Bunnie and Antoine."  
  
"Whoa! What happened here?" Amy asked, noticing the pile of destroyed Egg Pawns.  
  
"Eggman sent some of his robots to try and steal the Master Emerald." Knuckles said. "I managed to take care of it, though."  
  
Wanting to get a closer look, Sally walked over to the pile of destroyed robots. Tails decided to follow her. "What are these?" Sally asked him as she examined the wreckage.  
  
"That's the Egg Pawn series of Badniks." Tails replied. "What we're looking at here are the basic units."  
  
"Basic units?" Sally asked, confused.  
  
"These are the most common model of the Egg Pawns, but there are stronger versions of this robot. They can equip various weapons such as lances, swords and blasters, they can use shields to increase their defences, and they can be outfitted with incredibly durable armour." As Tails rambled, Sally looked back at the wrecked Egg Pawns, her expression shifting from confusion to suspicion.  
  
"There's also these giant, heavily armoured ones that-" Tails turned to look at Sally as he talked, and he noticed Sally's worried expression. "What's wrong?"  
  
"It doesn't make sense..." She muttered. "You said Eggman can build stronger versions of this robot, right? So why did he send these ones instead of the advanced units?"  
  
"Hmm... good question." Tails said.  
  
But before their conversation could continue any further, the two heard a loud beeping noise. Sally took Nicole out of her holster and opened the computer up.  
  
"Sally, Eggman's forces are entering Angel Island's airspace." Nicole's voice warned.  
  
"Everyone, get ready!" Sally ordered. The Freedom Fighters, Knuckles and Amy all prepared for battle, ready for whatever enemy was headed their way.  
  
However, what appeared was not what any of them were expecting.  
  
A massive red and black airship with yellow patterns slowly rose from beneath the clouds. The Freedom Fighters stared in shock as it blocked the sun and cast it shadow over the island.  
  
"Uh oh..." Amy said.  
  
"_Sacre bleu_! It is huge!" Antoine whimpered.  
  
"What in the heck is that thing?!" Bunnie asked.  
  
"That's the Egg Carrier..." Tails replied. "It's one of Eggman's airships. It has enough firepower to decimate a large city, and it can carry an extremely large amount of robots in its cargo hull."  
  
"So, what does that mean?" Sally asked nervously as she turned to Sonic, who looked up at the gargantuan airship with a determined look on his face.  
  
"It means this is gonna be one heck of a fight." He muttered.  
  
To be continued...


	6. The Island in the Sky, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Freedom Fighters are forced to defend Angel Island and the Master Emerald from Eggman's forces. Will they succeed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Angel Island-  
  
  
Things weren't looking too good for the Freedom Fighters. They had traveled to Angel Island by Knuckles' request to help him destroy an oncoming wave of robots sent by Dr. Eggman to retrieve the Master Emerald.  
  
However, instead of a normal dropship like they were expecting, the group was staring up at the gigantic airborne battleship, the Egg Carrier.  
  
"That wouldn't happen to be the ship you saw before, is it?" Rotor asked Knuckles anxiously.  
  
"Afraid not." Knuckles responded.  
  
"Ah've never seen so many cannons in one place!" Bunnie uncharacteristically whimpered. "Ya'll don't think he's gonna..."  
  
"Don't think so," Sonic said. "If it's the Master Emerald he's after, I doubt he'll risk blowing it up."  
  
"I knew he had to have been holding back for something," Sally said.  
  
"What do you mean, Sally?" Amy asked  
  
"I mean this is a trap!" She replied, to the shock of the rest of the Freedom Fighters.  
  
"I see you're just as sharp as ever, princess." Eggman's voice boomed from above. The group saw Eggman's Egg Mobile fly out from the Egg Carrier and down to them.  
  
"Oh boy. Here comes his evil monologue." Sonic remarked.  
  
"This was all part of my brilliant plan to steal the most powerful source of Chaos Energy in the world, while simultaneously getting rid of my greatest enemies. I figured that I could alert Knuckles here into bringing you fools into coming here. That way, I would have both the Master Emerald and all my enemies in one place. And with the hundreds of robots ready to fight currently stored in the Egg Carrier, crushing you will be a piece of cake! Of course, seeing as you're so obviously outmatched, I'm willing to negotiate. Simply hand over the Master Emerald and no-one will get hurt."  
  
"I think we'll take our chances, Egghead," Sonic replied.  
  
"Well, it's your funeral," Eggman said before pressing a button on the console in front of him. A hatch door at the underside of the Egg Carrier opened up and a horde of Egg Pawns, Egg Knights and a few Egg Hammers dived to the ground. Sally stepped back a bit at the sight of the seemingly endless mob of robots. Sonic noticed her nervousness and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry, we've seen worse," Sonic reassured her. Sally didn't respond for a while as she tried to control her breathing. After a while, she looked back at Sonic and smiled.  
  
"Yeah... I guess you're right." Sally whispered.  
  
With newfound determination, Sally confidently stepped forward and activated her Ring Blades.  
  
"Freedom Fighters, engage!" She called, and the Freedom Fighters, Knuckles and Amy charged towards the robot horde.  
  
"Robots, attack!" Eggman yelled before he flew his Egg Mobile back into the Egg Carrier. Upon his command, the mob of robots charged forward towards their enemies.  
  
Sonic wasted no time and Spin Dashed into the Egg Pawns, leaving behind a trail of destroyed robots. Following Sonic, Sally quickly attacked the robots with a series of acrobatic flips whilst slashing the robots with her Ring Blades. Sonic dashed right through the Egg Pawns and stopped in front of an Egg Hammer, which then tried to crush the blue hedgehog, but to no avail. As it tried to attack him once more, Sally came from behind and cut the robot's right leg off, causing it to lose balance. Sonic used a Homing Attack to knock the robot backward, causing it to land on its back and deactivate.  
  
Tails, on the other hand, was flying around an Egg Pawn with an energy rifle, dodging the laser blasts it was firing. He was moving too fast for the robot to keep up, and the laser blasts from the rifle ended up hitting and destroying other Egg Pawns. Tails then quickly curled into a ball and charged into the rifle-wielding robot, launching it into the air and letting it fall back to the ground, shattering.  
  
Knuckles and Rotor dealt with the robots trying to get to the Master Emerald's Shrine. The two noticed a large group of robots approaching them, so Rotor threw one of the robots lying on the ground into the air, while Knuckles jumped up and punched it at full force, sending it hurtling like a meteor into the approaching robots.  
  
Meanwhile, Amy was fighting the Egg Pawns with her Piko Piko Hammer. She noticed a group of robots coming her way, so she used her Spinning Hammer Attack to charge into the incoming robots and knock them away, leaving them to fall to the ground and break.  
  
Bunnie was destroying the robots attacking her nearly effortlessly. One of the Egg Pawns tried to attack her while she wasn't looking. Sadly for the robot, she caught the incoming fist with her left arm, swung the unfortunate robot like a weapon to destroy the one in front of her, and threw it into a large group of Egg Pawns, knocking them all down like bowling pins.  
  
At the same time, Antoine was engaging an Egg Knight and several lance-wielding Egg Pawns in a swordfight, expertly dodging and parrying every strike from his opponents despite being outnumbered. After blocking the last strike from the Egg Knight and knocking it off balance, Antoine seized the opportunity and span around in a circle with his blade outstretched, cutting all the robots around him in half.  
  
However, as he sheathed his sword, an Egg Hammer landed on the ground behind him. Antoine had just enough time to look behind him before the robot's gigantic hammer swatted him away, sending him back several feet and causing him to almost fall off the edge of the island, leaving him dangling on the cliff.  
  
"Antoine!" Bunnie cried as she rushed to the ledge, barely dodging the Egg Hammer's attacks on the way. She got to the ledge and, with her robotic left arm, grabbed Antoine's wrist and pulled him back onto the ground whilst Sonic dealt with the Egg Hammer.  
  
"Ah'm so glad you're safe..." Bunnie whispered, wrapping Antoine into a tight hug, nearly squeezing the life out of him.  
  
"ACK! B-Bunnie... if you could be letting go now, si vous plait..." Antoine gasped out in discomfort. Bunnie immediately noticed she was hurting him and let go.  
  
"S-sorry 'bout that..." She muttered.  
  
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Egg Carrier, Eggman, along with Orbot and Cubot, were watching the fight through  
  
"I don't think this is working, Boss," Cubot said to his creator.  
  
"I can see that, genius." Eggman sarcastically commented, glaring at Cubot over his shoulder. "Fortunately, I'm prepared for this kind of situation. It's time to unleash my secret weapon." He said as he turned his head back to the screen, adjusting his glasses slightly.  
  
Back on the ground, the Freedom Fighters had destroyed the last of the robots.  
  
"That's the last of them." Knuckles said. As they were catching their breath, Sonic saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head slightly to see Eggman in his Egg Mobile flying towards the Master Emerald's shrine.  
  
"Guys! Eggman's going after the Master Emerald!" Sonic shouted. The Freedom Fighters took notice and rushed to the shrine.  
  
Before they could reach it, however, they were stopped by a large robot diving down into their path. The robot resembled a giant Egg Pawn and had a shield almost as big as itself attached to its left arm, and a massive lance in place of a right arm. It looked almost exactly like the Egg Emperor, but this one had a silver color on its body instead of dark bronze like the original Egg Emperor, and it had blue markings instead of green. Also, there was a flat metal circle instead of a multi-colored window.  
  
"Is that the Egg Emperor?" Tails asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. It looks different." Amy remarked. Meanwhile, Eggman hovered next to the giant robot.  
  
"Well, looks like all of you are still in one piece." He groaned. "Nevertheless, that's about to end. Allow me to introduce you to my latest creation; the Egg Paladin! I based it on my old Egg Emperor design, but this one is much stronger and faster. Well, I'd better be going now. The Master Emerald isn't going to steal itself." He called as he hovered towards the shrine.  
  
"Tails, Rotor, Antoine. You guys go keep Egghead away from the Emerald. We'll keep this thing busy." Sonic said. The three ran to the shrine, while the rest stayed to fight the Paladin.  
  
Amy charged forward and leaped into the air to attack the giant robot with her hammer. However, the robot simply raised its shield and blocked the attack, leaving Amy vulnerable. The Paladin took this opportunity and swung its arm to the side to fling the young hedgehog girl away, sending her flying through the air screaming. Fortunately, Sonic caught Amy before she collided with the ground, before running back to Sally and Bunnie and setting her back on the ground.  
  
Bunnie, meanwhile, switched her arm into its blaster form and fired a powerful energy blast at the Paladin, but the robot blocked it with its shield. Seeing her attack didn't work, her arm turned back as she flew into the air and charged at the Paladin, punching it with her left arm, sending a loud clang through the air. Unfortunately, this seemed to only leave a small dent in the shield.  
  
"What in the...?" She muttered before the Paladin swiped its lance at her. Bunnie had just enough time to dodge before landing back on the ground behind Sonic and Sally.  
  
"So, how the heck do we take this thing down?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"I think we should take care of that shield first," Sonic said.  
  
"How do we do that? Bunnie barely left a dent in that thing." Sally asked.  
  
"Guess we'll just have to hit harder." He remarked. Sonic charged at the Paladin, and the robot responded by firing a volley of missiles at him. Sonic expertly dodged the missiles as he ran and jumped over the last one, landing a few meters in front of the Paladin. However, the missiles suddenly turned and headed back towards Sonic. The blue hedgehog had just enough time to turn around and see the missiles headed back at him and avoided them again, leaving them heading towards the Eg Paladin who raised its shield to protect itself. The missiles exploded on contact with the shield and left large cracks in it.  
  
Seeing the cracks in the shield, Sally had an idea. "Bunnie, Knuckles. Hit the shield as hard as you can!" She commanded.  
  
The two hit the shield at the same time, causing the robot's shield to shatter. As the shield broke, Knuckles' fist collided with the robot's chest.  
  
At the Master Emerald's shrine, Tails, Rotor and Antoine were fending off Eggman's Egg Mobile, which currently had a long arm with a claw extending from its underside. Tails pressed a button on his arm cannon and then shot an energy blast at the Egg Mobile. When it hit, the Egg Mobile and the arm suddenly stopped moving. Antoine then seized the opportunity and cut off the claw arm. When the Egg Mobile started working again, Eggman turned the vehicle around and retreated, growling in anger as he did so.  
  
Meanwhile, in retaliation to having its shield smashed, the Egg Paladin fired another round of missiles. Sonic and Sally dived to the side to avoid the missiles aimed at them, Knuckles jumped over them, Bunnie shot them before they could hit her, and Amy swatted them away with her hammer.  
  
"Ok, the shield's down. Now what?" Bunnie asked. Sally thought for a moment before noticing the crack in the robot's chest.  
  
"I have an idea. Sonic, try to redirect one of its missiles to its chest." Sally said. Sonic nodded before dashing towards the Paladin as it fired another round of missiles. He leaped onto one of them while avoiding the others and forced it to change its trajectory so that it was heading towards the Paladin and jumped off just before it hit the crack in the robot's chest and exploded, sending several pieces flying everywhere.  
  
Eggman, who had flown back into the Egg Carrier after being repelled by Sonic's friends, watched the Egg Paladin explode. Furious, he pressed a few buttons on the ships command console, causing it to turn around.  
  
"This isn't over, Freedom Fighters! I'll get you next time!" Eggman shouted as the Egg Carrier flew away from Angel Island.

  
  
-Minutes later-  
  
After the Freedom Fighters defeated Eggman and forced him to retreat, they stayed on the island for a while at Tails' request to gather the broken metal left by the destroyed Badniks. Once they had collected all of it, they started to head back to the Freedom Fighter Jet, with Bunnie helping Tails carry a large bag of scrap metal. However, Knuckles asked Sonic and Sally to stay behind for a moment.  
  
"I'm sure you've noticed that Eggman has become more active lately." Knuckles started. "If he needed the Master Emerald, I'm sure it's for something big. And since he failed to get it, his next plan will most likely be to find the Chaos Emeralds. If that's the case, you'll need to find them first."  
  
"Wait, you're not coming with us to help"? Sally asked.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't. I still need to guard the Master Emerald. If Eggman notices me fighting his robots, he'll see it as an opportunity to try and steal it again. However..." Knuckles paused as pulled out a green Chaos Emerald.  
  
"Here, take this." Knuckles said while giving Sonic the emerald.  
  
"What is that?" Sally asked, staring curiously at the gemstone.  
  
"This is one of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic explained. "Y'know, those things I told you about a while ago?"  
  
"Yes, I remember. So Eggman is looking for these?"  
  
"Well, if he is after them, then we've got a head start on him." He said before turning to Knuckles. "Thanks, Knux. And don't worry, Eggman won't be laying a finger on those Emeralds."  
  
The two then said their goodbyes to Knuckles before leaving to catch up with the rest of the group.

* * *

  
-Egg Carrier-  
  
  
Meanwhile, Eggman was still furious about having been foiled by Sonic and his friends once again.  
  
"Curse those Freedom Fighters!" He growled to himself. "They may have stopped me this time, but mark my words, it WILL be the last time. Fortunately for me, I can just as easily use the Chaos Emeralds instead of the Master Emerald, and I won't let those pests beat me to them!" He pressed a button on his command console, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him. He scrolled through a list of names for a few seconds before stopping and selecting one of them, causing the word "CALLING" to appear on the screen.  
  
"And I know someone who can help me with that." He said darkly as he waited. Almost instantly, the dial tone stopped.  
  
"You require my assistance?" A sinister voice on the other end said.


	7. An Old Foe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tails asks Sally to help test a newly built Extreme Gear to help them in the field. Meanwhile, Eggman decides to hire an old adversary to help him capture Sonic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Emerald Town-  
  
  
Sonic and Sally were walking through the streets of Emerald Town. However, during their walk, Sally started to feel insecure. She began to worry that she was slowing Sonic down.  
  
"Sonic?" She asked nervously, getting his attention. "Do you ever... worry about me slowing you down?"  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
  
"I mean how you always have to carry me everywhere when there's an emergency. Doesn't that get annoying or tedious?"  
  
"Not really." He replied after a few seconds of thought. "Why? Has someone been saying something?"  
  
"No, I... I know you said that you would slow down for me, but I can't help but think about it. I mean, what if you were captured or something?"  
  
"Sal, you do know that's probably not gonna happen, right?"  
  
"Sonic, just because it's unlikely to happen doesn't mean it won't happen."  
  
"Sorry, I just didn't think that would be something you'd worry about," Sonic replied. "Now that you mention it, though, Tails said that he wanted to work on Extreme Gear for you and the others."  
  
"Extreme Gear? What's that?"  
  
"Uh... Well, Tails can explain it better than I can, but they're basically high-speed hoverboards. They're mostly used for racing, but they can be used for moving quickly from A to B." This piqued Sally's interest. "So, if you are worried about it, we can easily go over and see him."  
  
"Of course," Sally replied as they started to walk back, before giggling slightly to herself. "Is it just me, or does Tails have a habit of coming up with ideas exactly when we need them?"

* * *

  
Later...  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
Sonic and Sally were outside Tails' workshop. Sally had explained her problem to Tails and he went into his workshop to get something, so the two waited for him to come back. After countless minutes had passed, he came back through holding a dark yellow and grey board-like device.  
  
"Wait, you built it already?" Sally asked, surprised.  
  
"Not yet, this is just a training model." Tails explained. "This will allow me to analyze your performance so I can determine what type of frame you would be most suited to, as well as customize the board to adjust it to your riding style."  
  
"Right. So basically, you want me to practice on this board, and then you can build a new one based on my performance." She summarised.  
  
"Essentially, yes. But it'll take a while to get used to, so I'll only start analyzing once you're comfortable." He placed the training board on the ground. Sally stepped onto it and the board started to levitate, causing Sally to nearly lose her balance.  
  
However, she leaned a little bit too forward, making the board accelerate and causing her to crash right into the wall. Sonic and Tails both winced in sympathy as she collapsed onto the ground.  
  
"This might take a while..." She groaned.  
  


* * *

  
-Eggman's Base-  
  
  
Meanwhile, inside Eggman's base, Eggman was fixing his Egg Mobile from his last scuffle with Sonic and his friends when Orbot floated into the room.  
  
"Sir, I believe the mercenary has arrived." He informed his creator.  
  
"Perfect! Bring him in." Eggman replied as he stood up. A purple weasel clad in a brown hat, brown gloves with metal pads on the backs and brown and white boots entered the room.  
  
"You must be Nack the Weasel," Eggman said as he walked towards him and extended his hand out to Nack.  
  
"Pleasure to meet you, Doctor," Nack said, taking Eggman's hand and shaking it.  
  
"Now then, let's get down to business." Eggman proposed. "It's about Sonic the Hedgehog. I've had that rodent foiling me at every turn for far too long."  
  
"Trust me, I've had more than my fair share of trouble with that blue pest," Nack replied. It didn't take much to convince Nack; just the mere mention of Sonic's name was enough.  
  
"Usually, I'm not one to ask for outside assistance, but in this case, I'm willing to make an exception." Eggman continued. "So what I want you to do is capture Sonic and bring him to me."  
  
"I can assure you, you won't be disappointed," Nack said as he turned around and left.  
  
"For your sake, I hope not," Eggman muttered.  
  


* * *

  
A few hours later...  
-Emerald Town-  
  
  
Sonic was currently running a few quick laps around Emerald Town to pass time. He had left Sally to practice riding the Extreme Gear by herself at her request. He hoped that it would help her. After all, she did have a point.  
  
While lost in thought, he noticed a familiar pink hedgehog in the path. He managed to screech to a halt, stopping mere inches away from crashing into her. Amy, on the other hand, didn't even flinch, instead smiling widely seeing her 'boyfriend' again.  
  
"Sonic! Perfect timing." Amy said cheerfully  
  
"Hey, Amy." He said before she suddenly grabbed Sonic's arm and started pulling him.  
  
"Come on, we're going to be late." Amy cheered.  
  
"Late for what?" Sonic asked, completely confused.  
  
"For our date, silly!"  
  
"Wha- DATE?!" Sonic shouted, incredulous. Amy stopped dead in her tracks, let go of Sonic's arm and turned round to face him with her hands of her hips.  
  
"Come on, Sonic. When was the last time we had a date?" She asked sternly.  
  
"We've never had one." He reminded flatly.  
  
"My point exactly!" Amy replied.  
  
"Amy, we're not-" Sonic started before he heard something behind him.  
  
"Hold on. Did you hear that?" He asked Amy, who just kept her arms folded.  
  
"Nice try, Sonic. I'm not falling for that." She told him.  
  
"Amy, I'm being serious." He replied, turning his head back round to face her. As he did so, Nack leaped out of the alleyway on his airbike and, before Sonic had any time to react, trapped him in a containment capsule, knocking Amy back in the process. He then drove away as quickly as he appeared before Amy got back on her feet and ran after the weasel.  
  
"Sonic!" Amy shouted as she chased them, taking out her Miles Electric with one hand.  
  


* * *

  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
After spending about two hours on the training board, Sally was waiting for Tails to make her custom Extreme Gear. While she still needed some more practice, she had at least become competent enough to maneuver without hitting something or losing her balance.  
  
"Okay, all done!" She heard Tails call out from the workshop.  
  
The main body was a light blue colour with two dark grey marks at the front and back. The front half of the board was hexagonal in shape, while the back half resembled a rounded rectangle. The sides were mostly grey apart from two light blue streaks across the top and bottom, and there were two small diamond-shaped vent-like holes surrounded by light blue lining on either side of the board.  
  
"Here you go. Your very own Extreme Gear." Tails cheered as he handed her the board.  
  
"Thanks." Sally gratefully said before she realised something. "But won't I have to practice to get used to this board as well? I mean, since it's different from the training one."  
  
"Not at all. In fact, it should actually be easier." He replied. Suddenly, Tails heard his Miles Electric communicator ringing. He took it out and tapped his finger on the screen to accept the call. "Hello?"  
  
"Tails! Sonic's been captured!" Amy's panicked voice shouted from the communicator.  
  
"What?!" Sally and Tails simultaneously yelled.  
  
"We were just talking then all of a sudden, some creep jumped out of an alleyway, captured him, and drove off!"  
  
"Where are you now?" Sally asked.  
  
"They were heading towards the forest. I'm on my way there now!" Amy responded.  
  
"Alright, I'll meet you there," Sally told her.  
  
"Please hurry!" Was the last thing Amy said before the line was disconnected. Sally quickly activated the Extreme Gear and jumped onto it, racing to the forest.  
  


* * *

  
-Emerald Forest-  
  
  
Amy ran as fast as she could to the Emerald Forest, mentally kicking herself for not believing Sonic.  
  
However, when she got there, she noticed Sally was already waiting.  
  
"Woah! H-how did you get here so fast?" She asked before she noticed the Extreme Gear in her arm. "Where did you-"  
  
"We can discuss it later." Sally interrupted. "Whoever kidnapped Sonic went through here, right?" She asked. Amy replied with a nod. "Well, if he has his Miles Electric, I think I can get Nicole to trace its location," Sally explained as she pressed some buttons on Nicole. On the screen, a map appeared showing where Sonic was.  
  
"Here. I need you to hold Nicole." Sally said as she handed Nicole to Amy.  
  
Meanwhile, in a clearing inside the Emerald Forest, Sonic was still trapped in the containment capsule. For some reason, the vehicle had stopped in the clearing, He eventually heard the footsteps of his captor before he walked in front of the capsule, revealing himself to be Nack the Weasel.  
  
"It's been a long time, Sonic." Nack sneered.  
  
"Nack? Hey, nice to see you out of the shadows for once." Sonic replied casually as if he were talking to an old friend.  
  
"I have to say, capturing you was easier than I thought it would be," Nack commented.  
  
"Let's see who's laughing once I bust outta here!" He exclaimed before curling up and Spin Dashing into the glass to try and break it, only to bounce harmlessly off it and slam into the back of the capsule, leaving him a bit dazed for a second. After recovering, he looked at the glass in a mixture of shock and surprise. It didn't even crack.  
  
"I wouldn't bother if I were you," Nack commented. "That glass is specially designed to absorb high amounts of impact. Your Spin Dash won't even leave a scratch."  
  
"OK, let me guess. Eggman set you up to kidnap me and take me to his lair." Sonic said.  
  
"You catch on fast," Nack replied. As he was about to continue, Nack heard a strange low humming sound. "What's that noise?" He asked while looking around hearing the noise get louder. Suddenly, something burst out from the side of the clearing, prompting Nack to duck down to avoid getting hit. When he got back up, he saw Sally and Amy on an Extreme Gear.  
  
"Amy! Sal! Boy, aren't you girls a sight for sore eyes." Sonic said.  
  
"Let him go!" Sally demanded while activating her Ring Blade and pointing it at Nack. In response, Nack simply jumped back onto his airbike.  
  
"Sorry, but my client needs him more than you." He said as he drove off deeper into the forest, with Sally pursuing him, having to avoid trees in the path while trying to keep up with Nack.  
  
Realising that Sally needed help catching up to Nack, Sonic used his Homing Attack technique to crash into the sides of the containment capsule, causing the Marvellous Queen to lose control of direction and forcing Nack to slow down slightly.  
  
"Hey, knock it off back there!" Nack yelled. Sally was able to use the momentary distraction and catch up with Nack. She reached out and held onto the metal arm that was keeping the capsule attached to the Marvellous Queen, then turned back to Amy.  
  
"Amy, I need you to jump off." She said.  
  
Amy was briefly confused by Sally's request, but then immediately realised what Sally was about to do. Nodding in understanding, she jumped off the Extreme Gear and landed safely on the ground, then started to follow them on foot. Sally, meanwhile, swung onto the back of the airbike while holding onto her Extreme Gear.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're-" Nack said as he tried to grab Sally, only to be interrupted by her kicking his arm away.  
  
"Eyes on the road," Sally remarked sarcastically as she activated one of her Ring Blades and cut off the metal arm, causing the containment capsule to fall to the ground.  
  
"You little-" Nack snarled as Sally jumped off the back of the airbike. Nack stopped his airbike and glared at Sally as the princess activated her Ring Blades, while Amy had caught up to them and had her hammer at the ready. Knowing he was outmatched, Nack growled in frustration as he started his airbike up.  
  
"I'll get you next time!" Nack said as he retreated. After he left, Sally and Amy ran over to the containment capsule to check on Sonic.  
  
"Are you OK?" Sally asked.  
  
"Not that I'm not grateful or anything, but could you be a little gentler next time you're saving me?" Sonic asked while rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"Sorry." Sally sheepishly replied before examining the top of the containment capsule. "By the way, hope you don't mind being saved by a girl." She said jokingly, causing Sonic to reply with a sarcastic laugh.  
  
"Why don't you just break out?" Amy asked, confused as to why he wasn't already free from the capsule.  
  
"Can't. The glass absorbs shock. Found that out the hard way." Sonic replied.  
  
"Well, this shouldn't be too hard to fix," Sally said as she attached a cable between the capsule and Nicole. "Nicole, can you open the lock on this-" Before she could even finish, the top of the capsule opened and Sonic quickly climbed out. "That was fast." She remarked as the newly-freed Sonic started stretching his limbs.  
  
"Compared to Eggman's technology, this was practically child's play," Nicole explained.  
  
"Who was that guy, anyway?" Sally asked.  
  
"It's a long story..." Sonic replied.  
  
"Won't be the first one I've heard lately." Sally then joked.  
  


* * *

  
-Eggman's Base-  
  
  
"What do you mean, you blew it?!" Eggman roared at the monitor. Nack had decided to call him rather than face his wrath in person.  
  
"Just a mishap in bringing the hedgehog." Nack's voice replied from the other side.  
  
"'Just a mishap?!' I gave you one simple job, and-" Eggman stopped himself before he could get too enraged. "Never mind, I've got a new job for you. I need you to find the Chaos Emeralds and bring them to me."  
  
"Chaos Emeralds, huh? Well, I'd usually have to charge extra for that, but I'll do it for free. Lucky you. I'll need to deal with a few things first, though."  
  
"And what would that be?" Eggman growled.  
  
"In case I need to deal with his annoying friends, I'll need some backup of my own."  
  
"Fine. Just get it done." Eggman replied as he disconnected the line, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.  
  
"So, your plan is to wait for Nack to return with his allies?" Orbot asked.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous! I already have someone much more competent on standby." Eggman replied. Meanwhile, in a dark room in another part of the fortress, a pair of deep red eyes pierced through the darkness...


	8. Upgrade, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rotor calls Sally over to discuss a new upgrade for Nicole. Meanwhile, Eggman begins hunting down the Chaos Emeralds as part of his latest plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Emerald Town-  
  
  
Sonic raced through an unoccupied pathway on the outskirts of Emerald Town, followed closely by Sally, who was on her Extreme Gear, the two moving at speeds nearly too fast to follow.  
  
Sally was starting to feel more confident when riding her Extreme Gear. She had been practising over the past few days, with Sonic and Tails helping her throughout, to improve her manoeuvrability and balance on the gear so she could avoid obstacles while riding it, and so far, she was making very decent progress.  
  
Deciding to put her newfound skills to the test, the two moved off the pathway and headed towards a forest path with fallen tree trunks and low-hanging branches, which Sonic found to be a great obstacle course.  
  
Racing ahead into the forest path, Sally showed exactly how much she had learnt by expertly dodging every obstacle in the path, at one point even jumping over a partially fallen trunk while her Extreme Gear continued under it, and landing perfectly on the board on the other side. Behind her, Sonic watched her with an impressed smile on his face.  
  
"Sally, incoming call from Rotor," Nicole said suddenly. Hearing this, Sally slowed down and jumped off her Extreme Gear before opening the handheld computer.  
  
"Hello?" She answered as Rotor's face appeared on the screen.  
  
"Sally, I've got something to show you! Meet me back at Tails' garage. And bring Nicole with you too." Rotor said, an enthusiastic expression on his face before the communication link was suddenly severed before Sally could even react.  
  
"Wow, you're really gettin' the hang of that thing," Sonic commented as he walked up to Sally, before noticing that Sally wasn't paying attention, and was instead looking at Nicole with a confused expression. "Yo, Sal. What's up?" He asked, getting her attention.  
  
"Rotor wants me to see him back at Tails' garage." She replied. "He sounded rather excited."  
  
"Aw, and we were having so much fun too." He lamented.  
  
"Sorry, it sounds urgent." She said, clipping Nicole onto her belt. "Besides, I'm sure you can survive a few minutes without me. You were gone for three years, after all." She then teased.  
  
"Okay, okay. Catch you later." He said before speeding off the opposite direction, while Sally mounted her Extreme Gear again and raced towards Tails' house.  
  


* * *

  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
Back at Tails' house, Rotor, who had recently made a huge discovery regarding Nicole and called Sally over to tell her about it, was alternating between pacing the floor of the garage and looking over the blueprints laid out on the table. He was still unsure if what he was trying to accomplish was even physically possible, or if he had simply lost his mind. He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door open, looking up to see Sally walk in.  
  
"Hey, Rotor. So, what's the big news?" She asked as she entered.  
  
"You remember that hologram projector I designed for Nicole, right?" He asked excitedly. Sally nodded in response.  
  
"Well, this is just a theory, but I think that if I can charge the device with enough energy, then the hologram should be able to manifest as a physical form. I would basically be able to give Nicole a new body." This news caught Sally by complete surprise.  
  
"That's... incredible!" She muttered.  
  
"There is one problem, though." He continued, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "The only way I can safely provide enough energy is by linking a Power Ring to Nicole's handheld computer."  
  
"I see. Then I guess it's a good thing I took one with me just in case."  
  
"That's only half the problem, though. Without the Lake of Rings nearby, we don't have a way of recharging the Power Ring when it runs out." He explained before thinking for a moment. "I guess I could create a device capable of recharging it, but I'd need some water from the Lake of Rings."  
  
"That's no problem at all. Sonic could go to the Lake, get some water, and be back in no time flat." Sally suggested. "I'll go find him and ask." She said as she ran back towards the door, before stopping in front of it and turning her head back to look at Rotor.  
  
"Oh, and Rotor? Thanks." She whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek, before opening the door and exiting the garage.  
  


* * *

  
-Eggman's Base-  
  
  
Meanwhile, Eggman was sitting in his chair in front of a large monitor, staring intently as it displayed a fast-moving aerial view of Emerald Town. Behind him, Orbot and Cubot approached him, confused.  
  
"Sir, may I ask what exactly you're next plan is?" Orbot inquired.  
  
"I've sent Metal Sonic to bring me any Chaos Emerald he can find," Eggman replied, not taking his eyes off the monitor.  
  
"So, why are you looking for these Chaos Emerald things anyways?" Cubot then asked. In response, Eggman turned around in his chair to face the two.  
  
"I've decided to rebuild one of my more effective creations; a weaponised flying fortress called the Death Egg." He explained. "In order to bring it to full power, I need a power source capable of outputting tremendous amounts of energy. Originally, I intended to use the Master Emerald, but after that little... mishap, I decided to use the next best thing; the Chaos Emeralds." Once he had finished his speech, a series of loud beeps sounded from the monitor. Eggman quickly turned back to see the words "CHAOS EMERALD DETECTED" displayed on the screen, and a mark indicating the Emerald's position appeared, which was moving towards the outskirts of Emerald Town.  
  
"Ah, speaking of which, it looks like Metal Sonic has found one." He commented sinisterly.  
  


* * *

  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
Back in Tails' workshop, Tails and Rotor were making the final adjustments to the holographic projector, which was now built into Nicole's computer.  
  
"Okay, the projector's set and ready to go." Tails enthusiastically cheered as they finished the projector.  
  
"Great. We're almost ready." Rotor said. "Now, before I can activate the projector, Nicole, I'll need you to create an avatar of what you want to look like."  
  
"I've already created one." Nicole immediately replied, surprising Rotor for a second.  
  
"Okay then. Initiating holographic projector test... now." He said as he pressed a button, causing a hologram of Nicole to appear before them, forming from the top down. She was a brown Mobian lynx with black shoulder-length hair, green eyes and black markings underneath her eyes and above her nose. She was wearing a purple and white shoulderless, sleeveless dress with split tails and a red brooch. She also wore black gloves with white palms and purple cuffs, as well as skintight black trousers and black and white shoes.  
  
"Okay, the hologram projector seems to be working perfectly." Rotor concluded. "All that's left is to attach the Power Ring." As he said this, he began to attach the ring to a clip on the upper half on Nicole's computer but hesitated for a moment.  
  
"Nicole, I should probably tell you a few things before we begin." He said. "While you're in a physical form, you'll be susceptible to pain and damage. As a precaution, the projector will immediately shut itself down if your body becomes too badly wounded."  
  
"Understood," Nicole replied. She wanted to help Sally in any way she could, and was willing to take the risk.  
  
Outside, Sally was anxiously waiting for Tails and Rotor to finish whatever it was they were doing to Nicole. She was about to go back inside to check on their progress when she saw Sonic rushing towards her, holding a large transparent container filled with water.  
  
"Here you are, milady. One bucket of the Lake of Rings' finest water." He said in an overly formal voice as he handed her the container with a mock bow, apparently imitating a butler.  
  
"Hilarious." She replied sarcastically with a smirk as she took the container.  
  
"So, what do you need the water for anyways?" He asked, curious.  
  
"Rotor built a hologram projector for Nicole that's able to synthesise a physical body for her."  
  
"Wait, seriously? That's awesome!"  
  
"Agreed. In order to power it, though, the device needs to have a Power Ring attached to it. The water is just to make sure we have a way of recharging it."  
  
"Well, I'll bet you're excited to see her in the living..." He started before noticing Sally's downcast expression. "Sorry, didn't mean to open up an old wound."  
  
"No, it's fine." She assured him. "I was actually thinking the same thing myself."  
  
The sound of a heavy object colliding with the ground immediately grabbed their attention before their conversation could continue any further. Both turned to see what appeared to be a robotic hedgehog with piercing red eyes and a dark blue colour covering most of its body. Sally had no idea what the robot was, or why it looked so much like Sonic, but the heroic hedgehog knew exactly who it was.  
  
"Metal Sonic!" Sonic growled at his mechanical doppelganger.  
  
"SONIC THE HEDGEHOG." The robot replied, much to Sonic's surprise.  
  
"Huh. Seems like Egghead finally fixed your voice chip." He remarked. "So, let me guess. Egghead wants you to capture me?"  
  
"NEGATIVE. NEW PRIORITY: RETRIEVAL OF CHAOS EMERALDS. CHAOS EMERALDS DETECTED IN IMMEDIATE VICINITY: ONE." Metal Sonic stated.  
  
"Sonic, what is that?" Sally asked.  
  
"That's Metal Sonic. Eggman made him for 'the sole purpose of destroying me.'" He said, mocking Metal Sonic's robotic voice near the end, before turning back to face the robot. "That sound about right?"  
  
"ENGAGING." Metal Sonic said, unfazed by the hedgehog's mockery.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes," Sonic said before curling up and Spin Dashing towards Metal Sonic while the robot charged towards him, the two meeting in a powerful collision that sent the two flying backwards from the force of the impact. Sonic managed to land feet first on the side of the house before leaping towards Metal Sonic, while Metal Sonic recovered in mid-air and charged again.  
  
They kept ramming into each other at high speed, neither one of them showing any kind of fatigue. The two moved too fast for Sally to see clearly. All she could see were two blue streaks repeatedly crashing into each other.  
  
Eventually, Sonic was thrown back from the repeated impacts and landed on the ground, tumbling for a second before digging his feet and fingers into the ground to slow down, coming to a stop in front of Sally.  
  
"He's a lot tougher than I remember." He said to himself as he curled up and Spin Dashed towards Metal Sonic. The robot responded by hovering slightly above the ground and forming a black diamond-shaped energy barrier around himself. The barrier completely blocked Sonic's attack despite his best efforts, which Metal Sonic took advantage of by slamming the blue hedgehog into the ground as if he were a volleyball. Metal Sonic then tried to stomp his downed opponent, but Sonic rolled out of the way in time to avoid the robot's metallic foot.  
  
Noticing that Metal Sonic had deactivated his protective barrier to attack, Sonic used his Homing Attack technique to ram into Metal Sonic's torso, then used it again in mid-air to strike the robot's head before trying to attack with a powerful kick to the side of his head. However, Metal Sonic recovered in time to grab Sonic's leg and swing him into the ground. The robot then readied his claw to finish off the blue hedgehog.  
  
Before he could strike Sonic, however, he was interrupted by Sally kicking him in the side, causing him to momentarily stagger. After regaining his balance, he glared at Salky, who had her Ring Blades active, then charged at the princess and swiped his claw at her, only for her to block the attack with her blades. This left an opening for Sally to attack Metal Sonic, landing a series of slashes and kicks on the robot before finishing off with one final kick to the chest that left Metal Sonic skidding back slightly.  
  
Undeterred, Metal Sonic charged again and tried to claw and kick her, only for the Freedom Fighter leader to smoothly avoid every strike. She then tried to stab Metal Sonic using her Ring Blade. However, the robot grabbed her wrist to prevent the attack, before grabbing her other wrist as well.  
  
"TARGET IDENTIFIED. SALLY ACORN, PRINCESS OF MOBOTROPOLIS." Metal Sonic stated as Sally struggled to escape from the robot's grasp.  
  
"Hey, let go of-" Sonic tried to say as he rushed towards Metal Sonic from the side before the robot kicked him in the gut and sent him collapsing to the ground.  
  
"Sonic!" Sally cried out in concern before Metal Sonic pinned her arms to her sides and flew away while she thrashed around, trying to break free.  
  
Meanwhile, Tails rushed outside, holding Nicole's handheld form in his hand. He noticed Sonic struggling to get back up from Metal Sonic's attack and immediately ran towards him to help.  
  
"What was all the noise?" He asked while helping Sonic up.  
  
"Metal Sonic... he took Sally!..." Sonic groaned.  
  
"I-I'll start up the Tornado!" Tails replied as he quickly ran back towards the garage, alarmed.  
  
"Just hang on, Sal," Sonic muttered as he inched towards the garage after Tails.  
  
  
To be continued...


	9. Upgrade, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and Tails chase after Metal Sonic to rescue Sally. With the odds against the Freedom Fighters, Nicole may be forced to step into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

After Tails started the engine of the Tornado and helped Sonic onto the wing of the plane, the pair took flight in the direction in which Metal Sonic escaped.  
  
"I can't see them anywhere. Are you sure Metal Sonic went this way?" Tails asked in a panic, unable to see the robotic hedgehog anywhere.  
  
"Positive!" Sonic replied vehemently, looking around for any sign of his metallic doppelgängar.  
  
"I'm detecting a fast-moving electronic signal ahead of us. It is most likely this aforementioned Metal Sonic." Nicole stated, providing the two some relief that they were at least heading in the right direction.  
  
Sonic, meanwhile, continued to look around until he noticed a strange flying object out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see Metal Sonic flying at a lower altitude, with Sally flailing about in his grip.  
  
"There they are!" Sonic shouted, pointing at the robot.  
  
"Okay, hang on! I'm taking us in close!" Tails said as he steered the plane towards Metal Sonic, positioning it behind the fleeing robot.  
  
Noticing the two behind him, Metal Sonic changed course and headed towards an abandoned building on an isolated island, flying through the open doorway. Impatient, Sonic leaped from the wing of the plane as it flew over the island, landing on his feet in front of the building, and rushed inside. As he entered, he saw Metal Sonic hold his left claw threateningly near Sally's throat, pinning her against the wall, preventing her from taking any action against her captor.  
  
"HEY!" Sonic yelled angrily, catching Metal Sonic's attention. "Let her go, you bucket of bolts!"  
  
"ON ONE CONDITION. HAND OVER THE CHAOS EMERALD IN YOUR POSSESSION." The robot demanded, holding his other hand out while still keeping his left near his hostage. Sonic remained skeptical, as he knew there was no guarantee that Metal Sonic would keep his end of the bargain even if he did give him the Emerald. Thankfully, Sonic managed to think of a plan just as Tails entered and rushed towards Sally to try and help her, holding his arm out protectively in front of Tails as he turned to him.  
  
"Tails, I got a plan. I'll distract Metal Sonic while you get Sal outta here." Sonic whispered before turning to Metal Sonic and pulling out the Chaos Emerald. "Hey, metal head! You want this?"  
  
Sonic then threw the Emerald into the air. Metal Sonic flew up to catch it, only for Sonic to use his Homing Attack to crash into his robotic clone and catch the Emerald while sending the both of them crashing through the ceiling and onto the upper floor. Metal Sonic landed on his back when he hit the floor, while Sonic managed to land on his feet before facing the robot.  
  
"Then you're gonna have to take it!" He shouted as he watched Metal Sonic clamber back to his feet.  
  
"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED." The robot replied as he rushed towards the hedgehog. Meanwhile, back on the lower floor, Tails was helping Sally back towards the Tornado.  
  
"Are you okay, Sally?" Tails asked, concerned.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sally responded. She suddenly stopped before they passed through the doorway. "Will Sonic be okay, though? He took quite a beating earlier." Her question was answered when Sonic suddenly crashed through the ceiling and onto the floor. Concerned, Sally rushed back to help Sonic back to his feet.  
  
"Okay, that didn't go so well." Sonic groaned as he got back up, while Metal Sonic calmly jumped down and landed in front of him. "Eggman's definitely given you a few upgrades."  
  
"IT'S OVER, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. SURRENDER THE CHAOS EMERALD." Metal Sonic demanded. Sonic prepared himself to attack again.  
  
"Sally, I have an idea," Nicole called out. "Connect the power ring to my system."  
  
"What? Nicole, are you sure?" Sally asked.  
  
"Yes." Hearing her reply, Sally hesitantly took out the Power Ring and clipped it onto the computer, and Nicole then quickly materialized between the two Sonics, leaving Sonic stunned and Sally practically speechless.  
  
"N-Nicole?" She was barely able to mutter out.  
  
"UNIDENTIFIED ENERGY-BASED FEMALE DETECTED. IDENTIFY YOURSELF." Metal Sonic stated.  
  
"My name is Nicole. And you will not cause my friends any more harm." She answered. She clenched her fist as she spoke, causing it to spark with what looked like purple electricity.  
  
"THREAT LEVEL UNKNOWN. ELIMINATING POTENTIAL THREAT." Metal Sonic stated before suddenly rocketing towards the digital lynx, while she thrust both of her arms forward with her hands open, hoping to block the robot's charge. What nobody, not even Nicole, expected to happen was for a blast of purple-coloured energy to fire from Nicole's palm and strike Metal Sonic, immobilising the robotic hedgehog instantly.  
  
Nicole stared at her hand in a mixture of surprise and confusion, while everyone else looked at her in shock. Before anyone could question what just happened, however, Metal Sonic got back up, his red optics flickering back to life.  
  
Deciding to test out the abilities of her new body, Nicole held out her hands and focused her energy into the shape of a spear with a bifurcated head. Nicole had just enough time to hold the spear in her hands before Metal Sonic charged at her again and tried to claw at her. Nicole quickly swung the spear to the side to knock his metallic hand away.  
  
"Sonic," Sally whispered, attracting the hedgehog's attention. "While Metal Sonic's distracted, you and I will attack him from the side."  
  
While Nicole continued to block Metal Sonic's attacks with her energy spear, Sonic Spin Dashed into the robot's side, followed by a kick to the head that sent the robot off-balance. The robot recovered and turned to face the hedgehog, only for Sally to attack him with her blades from behind. When Metal Sonic tried to turn around to attack her, Sonic charged into him with another Spin Dash, sending him flying to the other side of the room.  
  
Recovering, Metal Sonic turned back towards the trio and began gathering energy in his chest cavity.  
  
"Watch out!" Sonic warned as he, Sally and Nicole managed to jump out of the way before Metal Sonic fired a powerful laser blast from his chest, leaving a large hole in the wall behind the trio.  
  
After the blast subsided, Metal Sonic began charging energy again but was interrupted when Tails suddenly struck him in the back of the head with his own Spin Dash. Metal Sonic tried to turn around and swipe at him, but the two-tailed fox managed to fly out of his reach. Seizing the opportunity, Sally attacked him, striking him once with her Ring Blades before the robotic hedgehog turned around and tried to counterattack, only for Nicole to block the attempt with her spear. The two teamed up and attacked Metal Sonic together, with Nicole blocking every one of the robot's strikes, while Sally struck the weak points that he left in his defenses.  
  
Metal Sonic eventually leaped back to avoid taking further damage, before he let out what could only be described as a metallic roar and charged at the princess. Sally avoided the attack with a backflip, while simultaneously kicking the robot in his metallic muzzle. The kick redirected Metal Sonic's charge towards the ceiling, forcing the robot to stop in mid-air, leaving him open for Nicole to fire a blast of energy that sent him plummeting to the ground.  
  
Before he had any time to recover, Sonic quickly charged up another Spin Dash and rammed into Metal Sonic, sending the two through the hole in the wall and outside the building. Sonic then jumped into the air, still curled up into a ball and spinning into Metal Sonic's torso, before uncurling and kicking Metal Sonic, knocking him into the water, while the blue hedgehog landed on the edge of the island. As he looked over the edge of the island and caught his breath, Sally, Nicole and Tails rushed towards him.  
  
Before anyone could say or do anything else, Metal Sonic burst out from the water, much to everyone's surprise, and hovered in the air above them. His body was clearly damaged as it was covered in several dents and cuts, one of his optics was slightly flickering, and his body was periodically twitching, accompanied by electricity sparking off his body.  
  
"That thing still works?" Sally asked in disbelief. Metal Sonic was just about to attack when a notice informing him that Dr. Eggman was contacting him appeared on his HUD.  
  
"Metal Sonic! What's happening?" Metal Sonic suddenly heard Eggman shout through a communication link.  
  
"RETRIEVING... CHAOS EMERALD..." Metal Sonic replied.  
  
"Never mind that! You've taken too much damage. Return for now!"  
  
"...UNDERSTOOD." The robot eventually relented and suddenly flew off in the direction of Eggman's base, confusing the four Freedom Fighters.  
  
"Wait, where's he going?" Tails wondered.  
  
"Guess Egghead decided to cut his losses," Sonic replied. Meanwhile, Nicole noticed Sally looking at her with a strange, almost sad expression on her face.  
  
"What's wrong, Sally?" She asked.  
  
"N-Never mind. It's nothing." She responded quickly, turning her head away slightly.  
  
"More importantly, that was awesome!" Sonic said to Nicole, his excitement clear in his voice. "You totally kicked Metal's butt! How'd you do that?"  
  
"You did say Metal Sonic was designed to be able to defeat you in combat, so I was able to determine that Metal Sonic would struggle against an unfamiliar opponent." She explained. "Still, I was not aware of the energy projection abilities that this body possessed. Was this an intended feature, Tails?"  
  
"Actually, this is news to me." Tails admitted to Nicole's surprise. "I guess it would make sense if you were able to manipulate the energy your body is made out of. I'll need to run some tests when we get back, just to make sure your body isn't unstable."  
  
"Yeah, that's great and all, but do you think we could continue this when we're NOT standing on a crumbling island surrounded by about a hundred feet of water?" Sonic asked anxiously, eliciting a small chuckle from Sally.  
  


* * *

  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
When they got back, Tails immediately began analysing Nicole's physical projection to test for abnormalities or malfunctions. It wasn't until nightfall when he eventually found that, to his and everyone else's relief, his previous theory was correct - she was capable of controlling the energy emitted by the Power Ring in various ways, such as altering her physical appearance, firing bolts of energy, and forming weapons out of it.  
  
With the analysis finished, Nicole was sitting down on the grass outside and looking up at the night sky, the Power Ring still connected to her computer. She was interrupted when she heard the sound of a door opening and looked over her shoulder to see Sally stepping outside.  
  
"Nicole? What are you doing out here?" Sally asked.  
  
"I was just observing the stars. I apologize if I worried you." Nicole stated.  
  
"No need to apologize, I was just curious," Sally explained, walking up to her. "May I join you?"  
  
"Of course." She replied, letting Sally sit down on the grass next to her.  
  
"So, I take it you like your new body?" Sally inquired.  
  
"Yes. I'm not sure why, but I've wanted this for a long time." Nicole admitted. "To feel the earth beneath my feet, feel the wind on my face, and see the stars. And not just analyze them and map out the constellations, but to really see them, the way that you do."  
  
Though she wasn't sure, Sally could have sworn that Nicole's voice became more emotional, as opposed to her usual analytical, monotonous voice. However, a series of beeps sounded from Nicole's computer, interrupting their conversation. Nicole picked it up and looked at the screen. "That's inconvenient."  
  
"What's wrong?" Sally asked.  
  
"I suppose Tails forgot to mention that my new feature drains my battery at a faster rate while it's active. I should deactivate it for now to preserve power." She replied, setting the computer down between her and Sally. "But, before I do, I want to thank you, Sally."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"For making me feel like I'm more than just a program." She said before her holographic form disappeared. Sally then picked up the computer and stared at it, a small tear rolling down her cheek as she sighed deeply, remembering when that statement was indeed true.  
  
"Good to have you back, Nicole," Sally whispered, looking back up at the sky.


	10. Matters of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Furious over Metal Sonic's previous defeat at the hands of the Freedom Fighters, Eggman decides to take matters into his own hands and search for the next Chaos Emerald himself. Meanwhile, during a mission to locate the Chaos Emerald, Antoine confides to Bunnie about his unrequited feelings for Sally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Eggman's Base-  
  
  
"Unbelievable!" Eggman bellowed as he slammed his fist down on the control console, his anger over Metal Sonic's failure yesterday having not subsided in the least. "How in the world did Metal Sonic lose to those rodents?! In spite of all his modifications, no less!" He turned around to face Orbot after he had finished his rant. "Orbot! Progress report!" He barked.  
  
"Well, Metal Sonic is still undergoing repairs, and as for your latest weapon, I'm afraid it won't be field-ready for at least another twenty hours." The robot explained hesitantly.  
  
"Drat! That's not soon enough!" The doctor replied. "I've located another Chaos Emerald in the town square, and I do not intend on letting those Freedom Fighters get to it first!"  
  
"I suppose you could just deploy a few Egg Pawns to retrieve the Emerald for you?" Orbot suggested.  
  
"And risk having that meddling computer turn my own tech against me? I don't think so!" Eggman said before turning away in thought. "I suppose I'll have to take matters into my own hands for the time being." He turned back to the two robots standing next to him. "Orbot! Cubot! Ready the Egg Laser Tank!"  
  


* * *

  
-Tails' House-  
  
  
Sally was currently seated in the living room, staring at the green Chaos Emerald she held in her hand. Sonic had shown it to her before, but this was the first time she had a close look at it. She could practically feel the energy radiating from it. And for some reason, that energy felt familiar.  
  
"Hey, Sal." Her train of thought was suddenly cut off by a familiar voice. She looked up to see Sonic standing in front of her, with Tails close behind.  
  
"Oh, hello." She muttered.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Tails asked.  
  
"I don't know. Something about this Chaos Emerald feels familiar. Like I've come across it somewhere before..." She said before trailing off.  
  
"Hey, where's Ant and Bunnie?" Sonic asked after a few seconds, noticing the lack of distinctive accents.  
  
"I sent them to search for the remaining Chaos Emeralds earlier. Yesterday's events confirmed that Robotnik is looking for them, and I seriously doubt he intends to use them for altruistic purposes." She explained.  
  
"Uh... right. Whatever that means." Sonic muttered. "Will they even know where to look?"  
  
"Well, there was some sort of odd energy signal coming from Emerald Town, so I gave them a radar before they left." Tails stated, catching Sally's attention.  
  
"Wait, you built a radar for the Chaos Emeralds?" Sally asked, taken aback.  
  
"Yeah. It basically detects Chaos Energy signals in a nearby area and pinpoints their location." He explained enthusiastically before his expression became more concerned. "Although, it's kind of an old model, so the signal might not be one hundred percent accurate. Hopefully, they're not just flying aimlessly around the city."  
  


* * *

  
-Emerald Town-  
  
  
"Found anythin' yet?" Bunnie asked as she flew through the air above Emerald Town with the rocket boosters embedded in her feet, with Antoine, who was holding the radar, flying beside her on his newly-built Extreme Gear.  
  
"No. Zis stupid thing must be broken! Ze signal seems to be coming from ze entire town!" The frustrated Mobian coyote replied.  
  
"Calm down, sugah. It prolly just needs recalibratin'. Let's get back down to ground level and see what's wrong." She suggested.  
  
"Uh... Oui, good idea." Antoine said, calming down. They descended onto the street, and Antoine tried to fix the radar. However, Bunnie noticed that Antoine looked a bit distracted.  
  
"Somethin' wrong, Antoine? Ya don't seem entirely focused." She asked him.  
  
"N-No, it is nothing." He said unconvincingly.  
  
"Ya sure? You can tell me if there's somethin' botherin' ya." She pressed, concerned. Knowing that Bunnie could easily read him, Antoine sighed heavily and turned to face her.  
  
"It regards ze princess." He admitted.  
  
"Oh," Bunnie muttered sadly. She knew Antoine well enough to know exactly where this conversation was heading. "What about her?"  
  
"I-I just don't understand. I mean, just what does she see in that reckless, immature fuel of a hedgehog?" He ranted, while Bunnie tried her hardest not to smirk at his mispronunciation of "fool".  
  
"Antoine..."  
  
"Sorry. I know that is no way to talk about a fellow teammate. I just wish I could understand why she chose him." He said.  
  
"Well, maybe when things calm down a bit, ya'll could ask her. It'd prolly give ya closure if nothin' else." She suggested. The two then stayed silent while Antoine returned to trying to recalibrate the radar until Bunnie decided to speak up again. "Hey, Antoine?"  
  
"Yes?" He replied, his gaze not leaving the radar.  
  
"Well, Ah, uh... A-"  
  
"Hold zat thought, Bunnie." He interrupted. "Ze signal seems to be coming from ze town square. Let's go." He said as he rushed ahead. Bunnie stayed behind for a second, her face taking on a dejected expression, before following him.  
  
The two eventually reached the busy town square and spotted the Chaos Emerald atop a stone statue in the middle of the square. It was just like the one Sally showed them earlier, only this one was blue instead of green.  
  
"That must be it!" Bunnie stated as the two rushed towards the statue.  
  
"But why here, of all places?" Antoine wondered.  
  
"Dunno. Maybe someone thought it'd make a nice decoration?" She mused. "Think we should leave a note or somethin'? Ah mean, we are kinda-"  
  
"Wait! Are you hearing zat?" Antoine interrupted, hearing a strange noise that seemed to be getting louder and placing a hand on his blade in preparation. Bunnie looked around for the source of the noise before noticing a large shadow crawling along the ground.  
  
"Huh? What the-?" She muttered as she looked up at the source of the shadow, a gigantic, near-rectangular object that seemed to hover high in the air. And to her shock, the object suddenly began falling towards the ground. Reacting quickly, she extended her robotic left hand to grab the Emerald, gripped Antoine's arm with her right, and leapt a great deal backwards, narrowly avoiding the large metal mass that crushed the statue underneath it.  
  
The sudden, violent arrival of the object caused the civilians to panic and run to safety, while Antoine and Bunnie remained in place, seeing the object was, in fact, a tank that was mostly light grey in colour, with a few yellow and black accents lining the upper hull. The main turret had a long, thin barrel, and two smaller, seemingly automated dual-barreled turrets were positioned on the front of the hull. The lower hull was large and bulky and seemed to be separated into front and rear halves, each having a set of caterpillar tracks.  
  
"Not so fast! That Emerald belongs to me!" The two heard Eggman's voice call out from inside the tank before he fired a powerful energy blast from the main cannon at the two Mobians, who were just able to dodge it by jumping to the sides, avoiding the blast it made upon impact with the ground. The two automated turrets then aimed and fired orange-coloured energy bolts at the duo, forcing them to run behind a building to take cover.  
  
"There's no way we'll be able to take him on ourselves! I'll call the others!" Bunnie said frantically as she activated the communicator built into her left wrist and called Sally.  
  
"Hello?" She heard Sally's voice on the other end.  
  
"Guys, we need backup! We got the Emerald, but Robotnik showed up outta nowhere and attacked us!" Bunnie responded urgently.  
  
"Bunnie, calm down. Where are you right now?" She asked.  
  
"Me an' Antoine are in the town square!"  
  
"Okay, just hold tight. We'll be there as soon as possible." Sally said before the communication cut off.  
  
"Easy for you to say." Bunnie snarked. Antoine took the opportunity to look around the corner of the building, only for one of the turrets to turn and fire at him, with Antoine just barely getting his head out of the way in time.  
  
"I say we take out ze turrets first, then deal with ze cannon!" He proposed, before turning to his comrade. "Bunnie, can you draw ze fire from ze tank?"  
  
"Well, Ah can give it a shot." She replied before using her boosters to jump onto the roof of the building and walking onto the edge, overlooking Eggman's tank.  
  
"Hey, Butt-nik!" She yelled to grab his attention, before holding up the Chaos Emerald. "Lookin' for this?" The doctor immediately began firing at the cyborg, who flew around the air to avoid the energy blasts from both the main cannon and the turrets.  
  
As this was happening, Antoine emerged from behind the corner of the building and rushed towards the vehicle, drawing his sword from its sheath as he did so before leaping onto one of the automated turrets. The second turret detected this and tried to fire at him, but he anticipated this and jumped into the air to avoid the blast, leaving it to hit and destroy the turret he was originally standing on. Antoine then landed on the other turret and impaled the optic with his sword before leaping off, causing the turret to turn and fire wildly in multiple directions. Antoine remained careful to avoid any blasts that happened to come his way until Bunnie dived down and ripped the remaining turret out with her cybernetic arm, throwing it to the side as she landed next to Antoine, both hearing Eggman's irritated growl.  
  
"You know, for a pair of rodents with ridiculous accents, you two can be very troublesome to deal with!" Eggman remarked, causing the pair to shoot each other a brief look of indignation at the mention of their accents. "Fortunately, I have just the thing to exterminate pests like you."  
  
As he said this, the outermost section of the barrel of the main cannon extended forwards before suddenly separating into four parts that branched off the slightly thinner inner barrel at an angle, with the inner surface covered in glowing blue lines.  
  
"It's almost a shame that I have to use this without Sonic here to see the results, but I'm sure the look on his face once he sees you defeated will suffice!" Eggman said as the outer parts began rotating around the barrel at a gradually increasing pace while the lines glowed brighter, and an ominous blue glow came from the inside of the barrel.  
  
"Are you insane?! You'll take out an entire city block with zat!" Antoine shrieked, realising that the tank was its energy for a powerful blast.  
  
"Not if Ah got anythin' to say about it!" Bunnie growled defiantly as she flew towards the tank and pushed onto the cannon, using the boosters in her legs at full force to do so. This forced the tank onto its rear as the cannon was aimed upwards until a large, powerful beam of energy was launched skywards. Once the blast subsided, Bunnie pushed the tank further, flipping the tank upside down, and landed back down on the ground, exhausted.  
  
"Well, that outta hold him off." She said between breaths before the two heard Eggman laughing madly from inside the tank's cockpit.  
  
"You fools! You really think I didn't prepare for this?!" Eggman asked rhetorically as the lower hull of the tank extended both forwards and backwards while revealing four pivots attached to the front and back parts. Both parts split in half as the pivots moved from the base of the hull to the sides, and the four parts of the hull reconfigured themselves until they formed four long mechanical legs. The mech used its new appendages to right itself, its cannon now aimed at the two Freedom Fighters.  
  
"Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me." Was all Bunnie could mutter before the cannon fired, the two barely getting out of the way in time. Bunnie charged at the tank and jumped into the air to try and punch through the hull, only for the mech to nimbly leap backwards and make her attack hit the ground instead. The tank raised one of its legs and brought it back down in an attempt to crush the surprised Mobian, who was saved by Antoine diving into her, bringing her out of harm's way.  
  
Barely skipping a beat, the coyote unsheathed his sword, jumped onto the mech's leg and began striking at the pivot, only to find that the armour was too tough to break through. The mech suddenly started moving in an effort to throw the swordsman off, eventually succeeding and tossing him into the air. Bunnie managed to leap into the air in time to catch him, but the tank fired where Bunnie was about to land, the blast sending the two flying backwards and knocking them onto their backs.  
  
"Now, give me the Chaos Emerald, or I will blow the both of you to pieces." He demanded as the two struggled to get back up, aiming the cannon at them once more to emphasise. "And this time, I won't miss." Before they could reply, Sonic suddenly dropped down from the sky and onto the cannon.  
  
"Didn't your mom ever tell you it's not nice to point cannons at people?" He taunted.  
  
"Oh, Sonic. You're just in time to watch me destroy two of your closest friends!" The doctor retorted.  
  
"Yeah, not today." The hedgehog replied with a smirk before calmly jumping off the end of the cannon, at which point Rotor suddenly dived down from above and slammed his fists onto into the front of the hull, sending the mech off-balance and leaving it sprawling on the ground. As the mech struggled to regain its footing, Sally and Tails dropped down and turned to help Antoine and Bunnie up.  
  
"Talk about perfect timing," Bunnie remarked as she got back onto her feet. Sally flashed a relieved smile before turning round to look at the quadrupedal machine, which had started to get back up.  
  
"We need to take that thing down, and quick," Sally stated, before turning back to Antoine and Bunnie. "Could you identify any weaknesses or design flaws?" She asked, the two thinking for a while before Antoine suddenly had an idea.  
  
"Ze underside of ze hull seemed to be less armoured than ze rest of ze vehicle." He informed.  
  
"Then that's where we'll strike!" Sally replied, activating her energy blades. "Bunnie, I need you and Rotor to hold it in position and keep its underside exposed while we take it down!"  
  
"Got it," Bunnie said enthusiastically before charging towards the tank while the rest of the group drew the fire from its cannon. Once she got close enough, the mech tried once again to crush her underfoot, only for the bunny to catch it with her robotic left hand while using her boosters to push back. Realising his error, Eggman tried to steer the mech away, only to be interrupted by Rotor slamming down on one of the back legs, knocking the mech to the ground again and leaving the underside exposed.  
  
"Now's our chance! Sonic, Antoine, with me!" Sally called, racing towards the crippled mech with Sonic and Antoine closely following. Upon reaching the mech, Sally drove her right blade into its underside and dragged it along to the other side, leaving a massive incision. Antoine then slashed through the centre of the incision multiple times, leaving behind what was essentially a large, vulnerable target for Sonic, who used his Spin Dash to bore through the underside and make a large hole that cut through the mech's vital systems. The three evacuated after seeing sparks form from the hole, with Bunnie releasing her grip on the leg once they were clear and following suit. The mech tried once more to pick itself up but to no avail.  
  
"Now what did they do?!" Eggman yelled furiously as the warning lights of the cockpit continuously flashed red.  
  
"CORE SYSTEMS SEVERELY DAMAGED. SELF-DESTRUCTION IMMINENT." An automated voice sounded.  
  
"Great." The doctor replied sarcastically, ejecting his Eggmobile from the mech and flying off, leaving the mech to explode, with the Freedom Fighters standing away to avoid the resulting debris.  
  
"Well, at least we managed to minimise destruction as much as possible," Sally stated, looking across the damaged town square before turning to Bunnie. "Bunnie, do you still have the Emerald?"  
  
"Course. Here ya go." She replied, taking out the Emerald and tossing it to her.  
  
"Alright! Two down, five to go!" Sonic cheered.  
  


* * *

  
-Freedom Fighter Barracks-  
  
  
Later that night, after the Freedom Fighters returned, Bunnie decided to go to her room within the Barracks, her eyes aimed towards her feet and her thoughts still focused on her earlier conversation with Antoine. She had rarely ever stuttered or lost her words before, and yet the words seemed to just catch in her throat. She knew the reason and tried to think of how to tell him, but her train of thought was disrupted when she walked right into the very person she was thinking about.  
  
"Oh! Sorry, Antoine. Ah didn't see ya there." She apologised, slightly backing away from him.  
  
"Not a problem," Antoine replied, before noticing the unfocused look in her eyes. "Say, Bunnie, are you okay? You look like you are ze million miles away." He asked.  
  
"Yeah, Ah'm fine. Just had a lot on my mind, is all." She answered.  
  
"If you say so. Well then, I am going to be turning in for ze night." He told her with a slight yawn.  
  
"Actually, before ya do, Ah, uh... kinda wanna ask you somethin'." She said. Antoine was about to object but saw Bunnie's organic hand shaking slightly.  
  
"Remember how we were talkin' about your feelin's for Sal?" She began nervously, trying to approach the subject delicately. "Have ya ever thought about... movin' on?"  
  
"Easy for you to say. You have no idea how it feels to be completely in love with someone, only for zem to carry ze torch for someone else." Antoine scoffed.  
  
"Believe me, Ah know the feelin'..." Bunnie muttered under her breath, before resuming at normal volume. "Ah think you should at least consider it. Besides, Ah'm sure you'll meet the right girl someday. There's plenty more fish in the sea, after all. And, uh..." She began to stutter nervously. "Ah want ya to know that... that I... I-If you ever need someone to talk to, then... A-Ah'll always be there for you."  
  
"Merci, Bunnie." He replied gratefully after a moment, a small smile adorning his muzzle. Bunnie looked away anxiously for a moment before suddenly moving forwards.  
  
"It's gettin' late. Night, Antoine." She said hastily, rushing past Antoine as he turned to watch.  
  
"Uh... Bon nuit." Antoine mumbled, confused by Bunnie's behaviour. He had never seen her act like this before and began to wonder what would make her act in such a peculiar manner. But deciding that trying to pry would not be the best idea, assuming she would be willing to talk about it at all, Antoine decided to continue towards his room, but not before looking in the direction that Bunnie ran off in one last time.


	11. The Bigger They Are...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While discussing the Chaos Emeralds, Tails detects another one in the nearby mountains and Sonic goes ahead to retrieve it. Unfortunately, Eggman has a huge surprise in store for the Freedom Fighters...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Tails' House-  
  
  
"So, these Emeralds produce a powerful energy called Chaos Energy?" Sally summarised, having spent the last few minutes learning about the significance of the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic. She was seated on the couch of the living room, holding the Chaos Emerald they had obtained yesterday in her hand, while Sonic casually reclined on the table in front of her.  
  
"Yep," Sonic replied simply.  
  
"And you can use that energy to do what, again?" She asked, unsure.  
  
"Depends. You could use 'em to teleport from one location to another, stop time, pretty much anything that suits your mood, really."  
  
"Right. Now, here's where I'm confused. Is it only a select few individuals that can manipulate this energy?"  
  
"Actually, no. As long as they have a Chaos Emerald, pretty much anyone can use it. You just need to focus really hard to tap into it." The blue hedgehog explained, before letting out a small chuckle. "Man, you seem to be taking a massive interest in those things."  
  
"I just can't shake the feeling that I've come across these Emeralds somewhere before," Sally said, diverting her eyes to the Emerald in her hand.  
  
"You mean, in a book or something?" He asked, confused.  
  
"No, I mean physically. This 'Chaos Energy'... I feel like I've felt it before..." She muttered before holding the Emerald closer to her face, sensing the odd power that seemed to emanate from it, and closing her eyes as if trying to concentrate. Sonic looked at her with a curious expression, wondering what it was she was trying to do before she suddenly recoiled back in shock with a gasp, her eyes opening and her hand losing its grip on the Emerald, letting it fall to the floor.  
  
"Sal! Are you okay? What happened?" He gasped as he quickly jolted to her side, concerned by the shocked look in her eyes and her apparent breathlessness.  
  
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him. "I think some sort of image flashed in my head."  
  
"An image? Of what?" He asked her, even more confused.  
  
"Uh... some sort of canyon, I think." She muttered, struggling to remember as she recovered. "It was only for a split second, so-" She continued before she was interrupted by the sound of a door swinging wide open behind them followed by excited footsteps running towards them.  
  
"Guys! I found the next Chaos Emerald!" Tails triumphantly cheered as he stopped at the side of the couch while holding the radar in his hands.  
  
"Seriously? Where?" Sally asked.  
  
"Not too far from here, actually. It's in the mountain range just north of the city."  
  
"Oh, no sweat. I'll be there and back in no time." Sonic said as he stood back up.  
  
"Hold on, Sonic," Sally called out as she too stood up, picking up the Chaos Emerald she dropped and placing it on the table as she did so. "If there really is another Chaos Emerald nearby, Eggman will definitely be looking for it as well, and I doubt he'll be relying on his regular Badniks to retrieve it. We'll get the rest of the team up to speed and go there as a group."  
  
"Well, okay, but if we do that, then Eggman could just take the Emerald before we even get there," Sonic argued.  
  
"Hmm... good point." She relented, looking off to the side in thought until a plan formed in her head. "Okay, I have an idea. Sonic, you go on ahead and look for the Emerald. I'll get the rest of the Fighters ready and meet you at the rendezvous point. I'll send you the coordinates as soon as we're airborne."  
  
"Alright, sounds like a plan," Sonic replied enthusiastically. Tails handed the radar over to him before he sped off.  
  
  
It didn't take long for Sally to get the rest of the team up to speed, nor did it take long for them to prepare. Everyone had gathered their equipment and headed towards the jet.  
  
"Hey, Sally!" Sally stopped in her tracks as she heard a familiar voice, turning to see Amy and Cream walking towards her, as well as a small blue creature, a creature Sally recognised as a Chao, hovering around the young rabbit.  
  
"Hi, Miss Sally." Cream said as she approached.  
  
"Chao, Chao!" The Chao, Cheese, greeted as well.  
  
"Hey, guys," Sally replied cheerfully.  
  
"Uh, Sal?" Rotor called from behind Sally, grabbing her attention  
  
"Don't worry, Rotor, I won't be too long. Get the jet started up in the meantime." She assured him, before turning back to Amy and Cream. "What brings you here?"  
  
"Well, I realised that Cream actually hasn't met all of the Freedom Fighters yet, so I decided to swing by and give her a proper introduction," Amy responded, before tilting her head slightly to look over Sally's shoulder and observe the rest of the Freedom Fighters entering the jet. "Seems like I timed it poorly, though. What's going on here?"  
  
"We've detected a Chaos Emerald in the nearby mountains. Sonic's already gone ahead, and we're just about to meet up with him." Sally explained.  
  
"Well, can we come with you?" Amy said excitedly.  
  
"Uh, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Sally replied nervously. "Granted, this should be a simple retrieval mission, but there's every chance that Robotnik himself or one of his more powerful constructs could be in the area."  
  
"So? This wouldn't be my first fight with Eggman and his robots." Amy responded, pulling out her Piko-Piko Hammer and resting it on her shoulder for emphasis.  
  
"That's not what I'm concerned about..." Sally continued, subtly gesturing towards Cream.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that. Even if we do run into trouble, Cream's certainly no pushover." Amy assured once she realised, though Sally still did not look convinced.  
  
"Please, Miss Sally? I promise I won't get in your way." Cream pleaded innocently, causing Sally's expression to soften as she crouched down to the young girl's eye level.  
  
"Okay, just as long as you promise me that you'll stay out of the front lines if things get too dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt by involving yourself in a battle you can't win."  
  
"Okay, Miss Sally. I promise." The young rabbit replied before Nicole's holographic form suddenly appeared beside Sally.  
  
"Preparations are complete, Sally." The holographic lynx informed her.  
  
"W-Wait, who's this?" Amy asked, caught off-guard by the sudden arrival.  
  
"Oh, right. You remember Nicole, yes?" Sally said.  
  
"W-W-Wha-? You're Nicole?"  
  
"Correct," Nicole replied with a smile.  
  
"...Okay, what did I miss?!" Amy asked aloud, completely flabbergasted, causing Sally to chuckle in slight amusement.  
  
"I'll explain on the way."  
  


* * *

  
-Mountains-  
  
  
Over at the mountain range, Sonic had just reached the area where the Chaos Emerald apparently was according to the radar.  
  
"Alright, it should be around here somewhere..." Sonic muttered to himself as he looked around for the Emerald, before being interrupted by a sudden beeping noise. He pulled out his Miles Electric as it showed a map of the surrounding area, with a blue blinking dot appearing some distance to the left of his current position.  
  
"Those must be the coordinates Sally was talking about." He guessed as he put the device away and continued his search. "Where is it? Did it fall off the cliff or someth-" He wondered aloud as he checked the radar again, cutting himself off as he noticed the dot signifying the Emerald's location inching towards him. "Wait a sec. Is it... moving?"  
  
His question was answered as a large metal sphere flew out from behind the cliff and hovered in the air, looking up to see that the object was Eggman's Egg Mobile, with Eggman himself holding a yellow-coloured Chaos Emerald in his hand. "Of course." Sonic snarked.  
  
"How rare to see you out and about without your little troupe, Sonic." Eggman remarked. "Not that it matters. This time I-"  
  
"Listen, Egghead. I'm kinda in a hurry here, so how about you skip to the part where I trash your robot's butt and take the Emerald." Sonic interrupted.  
  
"If you insist..." Eggman retorted surprisingly calmly, pressing a button on the command consoole on his Egg Mobile. From behind the ledge, the gargantuan form on the Egg Carrier rose up sinisterly, the underside opening up and suspending a large humanoid mech from numerous cables before the mech was oriented upright and suddenly dropped to the ground.  
  
The mech itself was much larger than Eggman's usual mechs, even with the lower half of its body obscured by the cliff. It was mostly red and black in colour, with a few yellow accents dotted around. The upper body consisted of a spherical upper torso with the arms connected by cylindrical joints attached to the spherical shoulders, and connected to the lower body by a thick cylindrical "spine". The mech also had what seemed to be double-barrelled cannons attached to the forearms, and a large missile pod on its back.  
  
"Allow me to introduce one of my most powerful creations yet, the Egg Titan!" Eggman gloated as he hovered backward towards the Egg Titan, the cockpit opening autonomously as he entered and closing with him inside. A circular insertion port appeared as the Egg Mobile settled into position, and Eggman inserts the Chaos Emerald into the port, the interior of the cockpit lighting up. "It's over, Sonic! Your futile escapades end here!" Eggman's voice boomed from the mech as it came to life.  
  
"Oh, please. If I had a-" Sonic tried to reply, but was cut off by having to dodge the Titan's arm as it slammed down on the ledge.  
  
Meanwhile, on board the approaching Freedom Fighter Jet, Cream, who had been introduced to each member of the Freedom Fighters, was seated beside Bunnie, swinging her feet innocently as she started to get acquainted with the partially-roboticized Freedom Fighter. On the other side of the bay, Sally had finished explaining the events that led to Nicole's new form.  
  
"Wow," Amy muttered, just barely able to take in the recent information. "So now, it's not just hacking into things, but you can fight as well?"  
  
"Correct. But as of now, I've only scratched the surface of my new form's capabilities. I've been experimenting with new ways to manipulate the energy circulation, such as forming a defensive barrier, and-"  
  
"Hey, Sal? You might wanna take a look at this." Rotor's voice interrupted the conversation, the alarm in his voice causing Sally to leave her seat and walk towards the pilot's area, taking Nicole's computer with her.  
  
"What's wrong?" She asked, walking towards them, noticing the gigantic Egg Titan mech attacking something in the nearby cliffs.  
  
"Well, that's... troubling." She muttered.  
  
"What do you want us to do?" Tails asked.  
  
"We can't let Robotnik get his hands on the Emeralds, no matter what." Sally replied after a second of thought. "Take us in. Once we get close enough, open the doors and we'll jump out and assist Sonic. You two get this thing a safe distance from here and regroup with us." She turned to the others in the bay, who had turned to look at her with confused or concerned expressions. "Everyone else, get ready for battle!" She informed them, and they instantly readied themselves.  
  
"Sit tight, Sonic." Sally whispered to herself.  
  
Meanwhile, Sonic was doing his best to avoid the giant mech's attacks, noticing that the mech was a bit faster than its size would indicate, most likely due to the Chaos Energy currently circulating throughout its systems. After several close misses, the Titan activated one of its arm cannons and began firing energy blasts at the hedgehog, who responded by running along the cliff to evade them. He jumped onto a large rock formation before jumping off as the Titan fired at him again, and charged at the mech using his Homing Attack. Instead of leaving any damage, however, the hedgehog bounced harmlessly off the surface, much to his surprise. As he landed, the Titan fired at him and managed to blow Sonic back a few feet, who fortunately managed to land safely as the Titan aimed at him again.  
  
The fight was interrupted by the Freedom Fighter jet flying overhead, with the Freedom Fighters, sans Tails and Rotor, dropping from the jet and landing on the ground, along with Amy and Cream. Cream staggered back a bit after witnessing the mech towering over the group.  
  
"Cream, get back," Amy told the young rabbit, holding her hammer out defensively.  
  
"What's the situation?" Sally asked.  
  
"Good news, found the Chaos Emerald. Bad news, it's in that thing." Sonic replied. Eggman suddenly tried to strike the group with the Titan's fist, but the group quickly avoided the attack. The group, minus Cream, all retaliated swiftly by attacking the arm of the mech as it pulled back, but surprisingly, none of their attacks seemed to leave even the slightest scratch on the surface of the robot.  
  
"Nothing seems to be working!" Antoine said, slightly alarmed. As if in response, the Titan launched a volley of guided missiles from the missile pod on its back.  
  
"Guess we'll just have to use his own attacks against him." Sonic suggested as he ran towards the mech. He jumped into the air, leaping of the missiles as they flew past, and landed on the head of the mech. He stood still with his arms folded as he watched the missiles chase after him... only to suddenly turn back towards the rest of the group as he prepared to jump off.  
  
Bunnie and Nicole fired a few energy blasts at the incoming missiles, destroying most of them, but a few unharmed flew out from the resulting smokescreen. Fortunately, Tails and Rotor appeared at that moment, with Tails firing a few energy blasts from his energy cannon, destroying most of the remaining missiles, and Rotor putting himself into the path of the last remaining missile and grabbing it by the edges of the nose, before tossing it into the cliffs at the side.  
  
"Wait, what the-" Sonic muttered in surprise as this occurred, before turning his attention to the mech underneath him. "Okay, Egghead, what gives?" The hedgehog asked, tapping the Titan underneath with his foot.  
  
"Ha! This mech uses a state-of-the-art guidance system that automatically redirects the path of the missiles if they would ever inadvertently strike it." The doctor gloated from inside the mech. Sonic jumped off the head of the mech and landed beside the rest of the group.  
  
"Okay, so our attacks barely leave a dent and the missiles are smart. Any other suggestions?" He asked. Almost as soon as he said this, part of the Egg Titan's chest area began to open up, revealing a large cavity that started to glow brighter and brighter.  
  
"Yeah. Take cover!" Antoine hollered, resulting in everyone diving out of the way as the Titan fired an immensely powerful beam of energy from its chest cavity, destroying most of the land immediately in front of it in the process.  
  
"What was that?!" Rotor exclaimed.  
  
"That cannon seems to be stimulating the Chaos Emerald with a large amount of electrical energy and converting the resulting pulse of Chaos Energy into a powerful laser." Tails analysed as the Titan's cannon began to charge up again.  
  
"No, you don't!" Sonic exclaimed defiantly as he charged towards the mech with a Homing Attack, only for the mech to block the attack with its left arm. The hedgehog reflected harmlessly off the surface, leaving him in the perfect position for the mech to punch him full force with its right hand and send him flying into the nearby cliff face, breaking it upon impact.  
  
"SONIC!" Everyone witnessing the event cried out in concern as he started to fall to the ground before his fall was intercepted by Bunnie catching him in mid-air and safely bringing him back down, Sally rushing to his side. The mech tried to finish off the vulnerable hedgehog with another punch, but Nicole suddenly appeared in front of him and Sally and formed a protective field of energy that completely stopped the mech's attack.  
  
"N-Nicole?! How are you..." Sally asked in bewilderment as she crouched down beside Sonic.  
  
"There will be time for questions later." Nicole reminded as the barrier suddenly ruptured, blowing the Titan back. The Egg Titan tried to fire another volley of missiles at Nicole in an attempt to weaken her barrier, only for Amy to place herself in the path, an enraged scowl on her face.  
  
"Just! Go! Down already!" Amy screamed furiously, punctuated by several swings of her hammer which repelled the incoming missiles and sent them back to the Titan. The resulting explosions broke away the armoured layer of the Titan, revealing a grey underlayer. The Titan retaliated by firing a shot from one of its energy cannons at Amy, who had just enough time to jump back and avoid being hit by the blast, though it still knocked her back and sent her hammer flying out of her hand.  
  
"Amy!" The nearby Cream yelled in concern. Noticing that the Titan was preparing another attack, the young rabbit leaped into the air, her pet Chao following her. The Titan then fired another, slightly smaller volley of missiles at the now vulnerable pink hedgehog. As one of the missiles approached, Cream suddenly dived down and stomped on the missile with both feet, sending it into the cliff face and causing it to miss Amy as the young rabbit leaped back into the air. Cheese nestled himself into Cream's hand and curled himself into a ball, and Cream proceeded to throw the Chao at full force towards the remaining missiles, destroying every last one of them as the Chao ricocheted between them.  
  
"Are you okay, Amy?" Cream asked once she landed back on the ground, her Chao hovering back to her as she helped her friend up.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks, Cream." The pink hedgehog replied, picking her hammer back up as she rushed towards the mech and began attacking again.  
  
Sonic, meanwhile, was still recovering from the heavy blow from the Titan, struggling to get back up as he tried to catch his breath while Sally helped him, a faint yellow glow coming from underneath the cuff of his right glove.  
  
"You okay?" She asked, noticing the faint glow before it suddenly died down with an accompanying crack.  
  
"More or less." The hedgehog groaned, emptying a pile of gold-coloured fragments from his glove. "So, you wouldn't happen to have some sort of plan, would you?"  
  
"It's kind of a risky one." Sally replied.  
  
"Yeah, well, we'll take what we can get."  
  
"We'll need to limit its offensive options so that it's forced to use the cannon in its torso. Once it begins charging, we need to launch someone into the cannon to rip out the Emerald."  
  
"Okay, so how do we do that?"  
  
"I'm working on it." She replied, before turning back to her teammates. "Someone buy us some time while I formulate a plan of action!"  
  
"On it." Nicole responded as she charged up an electrical blast in her palm and fired, striking the Titan in one of its unarmoured areas, completely immobilising it. Bunnie took this opportunity and punched the mech in the back of the knee as hard as she could with her metal fist, making it lose its balance and sending it falling onto its back with a loud crash. With the mech incapacitated, the group fell back and congregated around Sally and Sonic.  
  
"So, what's the plan?" Amy asked.  
  
"We need to break off the armour and destroy the arms, then launch someone into the central cannon to detach the Chaos Emerald." Sally explained before she turned to Nicole. "Nicole, have you found any weaknesses in the structure?"  
  
"The joints connecting the arms to the body seem to have the lowest structural integrity. I would recommend focusing on them." The digital lynx replied.  
  
"Okay, here's what we'll do." She started. "Amy, I need you to redirect the missiles towards the joints to damage the armour. Me, Antoine and Bunnie will break off the limbs once they're exposed. Rotor, you will move around the back while the rest of us distract it and destroy the missile pod once the arms are off. That should force Robotnik to deploy the cannon. Once it opens, Amy, you'll need to launch Sonic into the opening with enough force to break through the mech." Everyone took a moment before nodding in approval of the plan as the Egg Titan started to get back on its feet.  
  
The Titan aimed its arm cannon in a futile attempt to strike the group as they swiftly moved out of the way. The mech fired another volley of missiles, this one much larger than the rest, but Amy confidently rushed forward and deflected the missiles back with her hammer. The mech braced as the missiles struck its surface, destroying the armour at the spots where they impacted, including the shoulder joints.  
  
In retaliation, the mech tried to swing its fist down at the young hedgehog, only for her to leap back and avoid it, followed by Sally, Antoine and Bunnie flying onto the shoulder joints, the former two flying on their Extreme Gear and the latter using her rocket boosters, Sally landing on the right and Antoine and Bunnie landing on the left. Antoine used his sabre to cut into the joint while Bunnie readied her blaster and started firing into the damaged area, while Sally hacked away at the right joint with her Ring Blades before thrusting one of the blades into the gash, sending the energy from the blade coursing through the arm and disabling it. Bunnie fired one last, powerful energy blast into the shoulder joint before she leaped off, followed by Sally and Antoine. The left shoulder of the mech began to spark before it exploded, breaking the left arm off.  
  
Rotor, meanwhile, managed to slip around the back of the mech on his Extreme Gear as the mech fought the rest of the group. Passing over a high cliff, he picked up a large rock and carried it as he flew towards the back of the mech as the arms were broken off, before throwing it into one of the holes in the missile pod, completely blocking it.  
  
In retaliation for having its arms broken, the Titan tried to fire another volley of missiles, but one of the missiles collided with the rock, exploding on contact and causing a chain reaction that completely destroyed the missile pod, causing the Titan to stagger a bit before its torso cannon opened up in preparation.  
  
"Now's our chance! Give it everything you've got!" Sally encouraged. Amy prepped her hammer while Sonic jumped onto the head of the hammer, smiling confidently. Amy then spun around with her hammer outstretched before propelling Sonic towards the Titan's cannon at astounding speed, who then curled up as he entered the cannon. The hedgehog quickly grabbed the Chaos Emerald as he closed in and tore through the back of the cannon and out of the mech, leaving a gaping hole. Bunnie flew around, caught Sonic by the arm, and threw him back towards solid ground, the hedgehog landing safely in front of his allies, as the mech began to spark and shake violently, before it exploded and sent Eggman, still in his Egg Mobile, flying off into the distance. After witnessing this, Bunnie landed beside the rest of the Freedom Fighters, and the group breathed a collective sigh of relief.  
  
"That... was close." Antoine panted, the ordeal leaving him exhausted.  
  
"Agreed. But we managed to stop Robotnik from escaping with the third Chaos Emerald." Sally replied, wiping her forehead. "We're done here. Let's head back." She said, prompting everyone to head in the direction of the jet, Tails and Rotor leading the way.  
  
"Amy? Cream?" The chipmunk suddenly called out, the two girls turning their heads towards her. "Thank you for your help." She said, her voice filled with gratitude.  
  
"No problem, Sally. We're always happy to help." The pink hedgehog replied with a smile as the two turned back to follow the group. Sally, however, stayed behind for a second to look at the surrounding cliffs, finding them strangely familiar.  
  
"Wait... this place..." She muttered.  
  
"Hey, Sal," Sonic called out, snapping Sally out from her thoughts. "Everything okay?"  
  
"...Yeah." Sally replied after one last look around.  
  


* * *

  
-Eggman's Base-  
  
  
The doors of Eggman's base slid open, allowing Eggman into the base, pushing his heavily damaged Egg Mobile along the ground. He paused once he made it past the door, stopping to catch his breath and recover his strength. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to wait long, as Orbot and Cubot approached him, accompanied by two Egg Pawns.  
  
"You two." He panted as he pointed to the Egg Pawns. "Get this to the maintenance hangar, immediately." The Pawns complied and picked up the Egg Mobile, carrying it away.  
  
"I... take it the test run for the Chaos Energy conduction system didn't go so well?" Orbot asked hesitantly.  
  
"Let's just say that it still has a few bugs to work out." Eggman calmly replied, brushing some dust off his shoulder. "I'll make sure the next iteration doesn't have the same issues. Never mind that, though. How's the Chaos Core prototype coming along?"  
  
"Funny you should mention that, sir. The device was completed while you were away." The robot told him enthusiastically.  
  
"Excellent. Let's have a look." He suggested as he walked through the base towards the manufacturing hangar, the two robots accompanying him. Entering the hangar, he approached a large, imposing machine and pressed a button on the console, causing the machine to open up and reveal a light-green, dodecahedron-shaped object that periodically glowed. Eggman picked up the object and held it up to eye level, a sinister smirk forming on his face as the object continued to glow ominously.


	12. Faker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and Sally's rest from the previous day's battle is cut short when a report about a mysterious assailant tearing through Radical City makes the news - and the perpetrator is someone Sonic knows all too well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Tails' House-  
  
  
"The damage occurred earlier this week when Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik attacked the town square in a high-tech battle tank." The news presenter said as Sally Acorn watched the news report on the television in the living room, the report showing overhead footage of the battle in question. "However, thanks to the heroic efforts of Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and an affiliated party apparently including Princess Sally Acorn of Mobotropolis, no casualties occurred during the attack. The town square is still undergoing repairs..." She continued, the footage showing Sally and the rest of the group, along with a picture of Sally herself. Seeing this, Sally breathed a small sigh.  
  
"So much for keeping a low profile." She muttered.  
  
"Perks of being famous, huh?" She heard a very familiar voice behind her, turning around to see Sonic standing at the foot of the stairs.  
  
"Morning. Where's Tails?" She responded, noticing the absence of the young fox.  
  
"Still tuckered out from yesterday. Figured I'd let him sleep." The hedgehog replied. "Everyone else?"  
  
"Rotor and Bunnie are helping out with the repairs in Emerald Town Square, Antoine's making a 'supply run', as he calls it, and Nicole's charging in the garage." She responded, before noticing Sonic's somewhat confused expression. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, no. I... I just figured you'd be helping out Bunnie and Rotor, is all." He explained as he sat down beside the princess.  
  
"I wouldn't be much help with construction work," Sally answered, bashfully scratching the side of her cheek. "Besides, now that everyone in the city knows that I'm a princess, I doubt they'd ask me to do any 'hard labour'. It's why I couldn't help with repairing Mobotropolis."  
  
"That makes sense, I guess." The hedgehog responded, sitting quietly until he suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah. Remind me to thank Nicole for yesterday. If it wasn't for her, I would've been paste."  
  
"You mean the barrier? Well, actually, she says she was taking a risk with that. She couldn't guarantee that it would have worked." She admitted.  
  
"Man, she's a lot more... well, real than she gives herself credit for."  
  
"Yeah... I suppose..." Sally said, looking down sadly. Sonic noticed this and immediately realised his mistake.  
  
"Oh. Sorry, forget I said-"  
  
"No, it's fine, really. I-" She tried to continue before the news report on the TV interrupted.  
  
"This just in, major destruction is taking place at the central highway in Radical City!" The alarmed reporter said, immediately catching the attention of Sonic and Sally. "G.U.N. has arrived on the scene and currently attempting to apprehend the individual responsible. Civilians are advised to avoid the area at all costs." The footage shows G.U.N. soldiers firing at something in the distance, followed by a few explosions before a black blur rushed past the camera.  
  
"What the... Hold on." Sonic suddenly muttered as he hastily grabbed the remote and rewound the broadcast, stopping at the frame the assailant came into view. The image was blurry, but both Sonic and Sally could make out a black Mobian figure with red streaks across what appeared to be spikes protruding from the back of their head; a figure that was all too familiar to Sonic.  
  
"Shadow?!" He said, standing from his seat.  
  
"Wait, you know who's causing this?" Sally asked him.  
  
"What the heck is he doing?" He asked to himself, before turning to Sally. "Quick, grab your gear. We need to go."  
  
"Should I call the others?"  
  
"Hopefully, we won't need to, but just in case..."  
  


* * *

  
-Radical City-  
  
  
Ten minutes and one panicked call to the rest of the Freedom Fighters later, the two arrived at Radical City, stopping on a freeway overlooking the city skyline, the city's main highway underneath them.  
  
"Well, this is definitely the place," Sonic said as he looked around at the expansive city.  
  
"This city's enormous! How are we going to find-" Sally tried to ask, interrupted by a large explosion in the distance.  
  
"Guess we just follow the trail of destruction." The hedgehog suggested in response.  
  
"That works." She replied as Sonic dropped down from the freeway onto the main highway, with Sally following on her Extreme Gear, unaware that a shadowy figure watched them descend before disappearing. Once on the highway, Sally pulled out Nicole's computer form. "Nicole, can you get a read on their movements? We might be able to intercept them."  
  
"One moment while I analyse their attack pattern." The computerised lynx responded as she did so. "Analysis complete. Their movement pattern is a bit erratic, but they seem to be heading towards a G.U.N. storage warehouse." She said, producing an overhead satellite map of the attack locations that were progressing towards the warehouse.  
  
"Wait, what could be there that he'd have any interest in?" Sonic wondered aloud as Sally studied the map closely before a concerning epiphany dawned upon her.  
  
"I think I have an idea..." She muttered.  
  


* * *

  
-G.U.N. Storage Warehouse-  
  
  
A powerful explosion punched through the wall of the warehouse, setting off a loud alarm. Through the newly-formed hole entered a black Mobian hedgehog with piercing red eyes, red streaks running along his quills, white gloves with red and black cuffs, red, black and white shoes, and a gold ring wrapped around each of his wrists and ankles. Ignoring the alarm, the hedgehog began rummaging around the nearby storage boxes, tossing each one he examined to the side until he noticed a safe hidden behind a large pile of boxes.  
  
Shoving the pile away, he held his palm out, gathered a small amount of energy in his hand, and fired it at the safe, destroying it and revealing the red Chaos Emerald. The hedgehog grabbed the Chaos Emerald, but before he could do anything else, Sonic suddenly rushed into the warehouse and kicked the black hedgehog in the back, sending him flying into the pile of storage boxes and knocking the Emerald out of his hand, which Sonic effortlessly caught.  
  
"Oh, there's that darn fourth Chaos Emerald. Thanks for saving me the trouble, Shads." The blue hedgehog remarked. As if in response, a strong burst of energy erupted from within the pile and sent the boxes flying. Sonic dodged one that flew his way, then narrowly avoided a few kicks from the other Mobian, before leaping out of the warehouse, Chaos Emerald in hand.  
  
"Okay Shadow, for real, what the heck are you doing? Are you in one of your moods again?" Sonic asked, appearing not in the least bit intimidated, before Sally caught up with him, dismounting her Extreme Gear. "Oh yeah. Shadow, Sally. Sally, Shadow." He said as he swiftly introduced the two to each other.  
  
"Sonic, who is he?" Sally asked as Shadow glared at the two as if assessing the situation.  
  
"Wait, didn't I tell you already?"  
  
"You only mentioned him in passing."  
  
"Ultimate lifeform, created by Egghead's grandfather, dark, brooding, kind of a gr-OUCH!" Sonic explained, interrupted by having to dodge a kick from Shadow aimed at his head. "Hey, don't get mad at me just 'cuz I'm right!" He said before rushing towards Shadow at full speed, with Shadow doing the same, resulting in a powerful clash. The two were pushed back before repeating the attack, again and again, their battle causing them to race all over the freeway, Sally having difficulty following their movements.  
  
Eventually, Sonic managed to knock Shadow into the ground while launching himself into the air and trying to follow up with a diving kick, only for Shadow to roll back onto his feet and ramming into Sonic while he was vulnerable. Sonic was sent flying back and ended up skidding to a stop next to Sally, who began adjusting something at the bottom of her Ring Blades.  
  
"Uh, Sal, anytime you're ready, I could really use some help here," Sonic called out to his partner.  
  
"Working on it," Sally replied as she finished, activating her Ring Blades and rushing towards Shadow, who proceeded to do the same.  
  
"Wait, hold on-" Sonic tried to call out before Shadow's boot collided with Sally's blades, the two lock in a struggle before they managed to shake each other off and continue their assault. Both managed to block each others' strikes for a short while before Sally managed to dodge one of Shadow's attacks and quickly counterattack with her blades, swiftly followed by a kick across Shadow's face that sent him staggering back a bit. "Uh, I thought those things cut through metal," Sonic asked, surprised that Sally's Ring Blades seemed to lack their previous cutting power.  
  
"These blades are equipped with a low-power setting..." Sally tried to explain before she had to block another of Shadow's attacks. "...so I can use them for non-lethal excursions."  
  
"Huh. Well, that's... convenient." Sonic commented as Sally shook him off and tried to strike him with one of her blades, only for Shadow to duck under to avoid the attack, but instead of taking the opportunity to attack her, he instead rushed towards Sonic. Though momentarily surprised, Sonic managed to block Shadow's attack, who proceeded to attempt to overpower him while seemingly glaring at Sonic's hand. Sonic was confused by this until he noticed that Shadow was focused on the Chaos Emerald in his hand.  
  
"Alright, Shadow. Spill it. What do you want the Chaos Emerald for?" Sonic tried to ask. Shadow gave no verbal answer as he silently charged up energy in his palm. Sonic immediately realised what he was about to do and broke away as Shadow fired a Chaos Spear that only just missed. Caught off-guard, Sonic was helpless as Shadow kicked him away, causing Sonic to lose his grip on the Chaos Emerald as it flew up into the air. Shadow reached out to catch it, only for Sally to jump over him and snatch it mid-air.  
  
Enraged, Shadow fired two Chaos Spears at Sally, who managed to narrowly dodge both before blocking another attempted attack from the black hedgehog. Unfortunately for her, Shadow managed to break her guard and dash around her using his speed, striking her with every movement before kicking her away. Sally, however, managed to keep a hold on the Emerald, forcing Shadow to rush after her to try and attack her as she hit the ground, only for her to land and dodge the strike. He tried to attack again as Sally flipped and blocked the strike with her Ring Blade while, in the same movement, tossed the Emerald towards Sonic.  
  
The blue hedgehog caught the Emerald, prompting Shadow to charge after him. Sonic managed to avoid his attacks, even kicking Shadow's hand to the side when he tried to fire a Chaos Spear, and he used the newly-formed opportunity to kick the black hedgehog in the chest. Shadow, after staggering back a bit, retaliated by waving his hand in front of him, causing a powerful burst of energy to emanate from him, blowing Sonic back a few feet until he regained his grip and stopped close to Sally.  
  
"Something tells me that's not the real Shadow," Sonic muttered before turning his head to Sally. "Sal, you stay back!"  
  
"You can't expect me to just sit back and watch you fight by yourself!" She argued.  
  
"You've seen how powerful this guy is. Whether he's a hollow copy or not, I'm not letting him hurt you!" He replied before rushing toward Shadow to resume their clash while Sally looked on in worry.  
  
"Shall I intervene?" Nicole asked as Sally looked around before noticing an unoccupied bipedal G.U.N. combat walker, with the designation "F-6" labelled on the mech in various locations.  
  
"No, I have an idea." She exclaimed as she ran towards the mech and climbed into the cockpit. Observing the dashboard of the mech, she tried to activate it, only for a message to appear on the screen in front of her saying "Access denied - Authorization required".  
  
"An authorization lock." She grumbled, taking Nicole and plugging her into the dashboard. "Nicole, I need you to access this mech and override the authorization lock. I may also need you to help me with the controls."  
  
Sonic, meanwhile, was still preoccupied with fighting Shadow. The two eventually managed to break away from each other, both parties slightly panting for breath. Shadow, however, began charging another Chaos Spear when they both heard the sound of something being fired and rushing towards them. They both turned their heads in time to see a G.U.N. combat mech - specifically, a F-6t Big Foot combat walker - firing a volley of missiles towards Shadow, who had just enough time to hold his arms in front of him in a defensive manner as the missiles struck him, sending him flying into the wall of the warehouse.  
  
"Yes! Direct hit!" Sally shouted enthusiastically in the cockpit, even pumping her fist in celebration. The dust eventually cleared to show Shadow removing himself from the indent in the wall. The black hedgehog started his approach as the mech's targeting system focused on him again.  
  
"Target locked," Nicole said as the targeting system locked onto Shadow, prompting Sally to fire another salvo of missiles at him while he proceeded to rush towards her, racing past Sonic in the process.  
  
"No, you don't!" The blue hedgehog called out as he ran to catch up with his dark counterpart, who managed to dodge and destroy every missile sent his way. He leapt up to attack the mech as Sonic tackled into him to knock him out of the air, but not before Shadow fired a Chaos Spear at the mech, which ended up striking it in the side. Sally yelled in shock as the attack connected, which was followed by an alarm.  
  
"That attack struck a vital component. We need to evacuate immediately." Nicole warned, prompting Sally to disconnect Nicole from the dashboard, kick open the cockpit, and jump out onto the highway, shielding herself as the mech exploded, only to be blown back by the explosion. Sonic raced towards her and caught her before she could be blown back further.  
  
"You okay?" Sonic asked her.  
  
"I will be once we take him down." She muttered in slight frustration as Shadow readied himself.  
  
"Then let's show him what we're really capable of." Sonic declared with a smirk. Sally nodded in confirmation as the two rushed towards the black hedgehog, with Sonic charging ahead first. Shadow fired two Chaos Spears at Sonic, who effortlessly dodged both of them before jumping and launching a Homing Attack at him. Shadow managed to block the attack as Sonic bounced over him and landed behind him, before trying to deliver an axe kick that was blocked by Shadow. Shadow then moved one of his hands and began charging a Chaos Spear, only for Sonic to smirk as he leapt back, leaving Shadow momentarily confused before he was suddenly struck in the back by Sally's blades. The black hedgehog glared back at her before trying to fire the Chaos Spear at her, but Sonic swiftly kicked him in the chest, causing him to inadvertently fire the Spear away from either target.  
  
The attack left him staggered for a while before Sally attacked again, with Sonic attacking Shadow from behind the second he turned around to fight back, the two trapping him in a tightly coordinated series of slashes, punches, and kicks. Eventually, Shadow tried to spin-kick both of them away, only for both of his opponents to dodge the strike, with Sonic counterattacking with a charged Spin Dash, launching Shadow towards Sally, who then performed a backflip kick that launched Shadow into the air. Sonic jumped up and struck Shadow with an axe kick that sent him hurtling back towards the ground, and before he could hit the ground, Sally attacked him with a roundhouse kick, sending him flying a few meters. The two Freedom Fighters bumped their fists together in celebration.  
  
Their triumph, it turned out, would be short-lived, as Shadow got back up again, removing the rings around his gloves as he did so, and began charging up a blood-red energy.  
  
"Oh, that's not good. Get down!" Sonic cried as Shadow unleashed his stored energy in a crimson explosion that sent the two flying and destroyed the surrounding highway. The two managed to recover only for Shadow to strike faster than the two could react and pummel Sonic with a flurry of high-speed attacks before kicking him away. Sally activated her Ring Blades in an attempt to defend herself, but Shadow effortlessly tore through her defences before using his speed to attack at almost every angle, sending her flying with the last strike, with Sally landing next to Sonic.  
  
Defiantly, Sonic struggled back to his feet as he glared down the black hedgehog, who calmly responded by charging up another Chaos Spear, this one appearing more powerful than previously. Sally watched and, wanting to help her partner, attached her Power Ring to Nicole's computer before sliding it towards Sonic's feet. Sonic looked down in confusion before the digital lynx materialised in front of him. Undeterred by the new arrival, Shadow fired the bolt of energy at the group as Nicole constructed a barrier around them. The Spear collided with the barrier and exploded, with Nicole visibly struggling to maintain the barrier. Shadow fired another Chaos Spear, and this time, the Spear began to break through the barrier. Alarmed, Nicole focused all of her energy and the barrier burst outwards, reflecting the Chaos Spear back at Shadow, who had no time to evade as it struck him in the arm and exploded.  
  
After a few tense seconds, the smoke cleared to reveal Shadow, and much to the trio's shock, it was revealed that Shadow was a robot. Its left arm had been completely destroyed, leaving only sparking circuitry remaining, its left optic had been damaged, and parts of the left side of its body had been torn off to reveal the internal wiring. The robot, in what could only be described as defiant outrage, tried to charge up another Chaos Spear in its remaining hand, only for something to leap out from the behind it, grab it by the back of the head, and tear it off effortlessly. The lifeless body of the robot collapsed to fully reveal to the trio who this assailant was - a black hedgehog that looked identical to the one they had been fighting.  
  
"Shadow?!" Sonic exclaimed. "Wait, that is you, right? Like, the real you?"  
  
"I just finished off the robot that was trying to destroy you. What more proof could you possibly need?" Shadow responded in a somewhat irate tone.  
  
"Yup. That's him, alright." Sonic muttered.  
  
"So you're Shadow." Sally tried to ask, eliciting no response from the black-coloured hedgehog observed the remains of his doppelganger. "So then, who... or rather, what, was that?"  
  
"An inferior duplicate of myself created by Dr. Eggman. Looks like they've been given an upgrade." Shadow replied, still holding the head of the duplicate by one of its quills. "To think that Eggman still has these things in storage..."  
  
"You mean there's MORE of them?!" Sonic responded in shock.  
  
"Possibly. And if they're anything like this one, then Eggman cannot get his hands on even a single one of the Chaos Emeralds." He told them.  
  
"I mean, that was kinda the plan anyway, so..." The blue hedgehog muttered to himself.  
  
"Hold onto that Chaos Emerald. You're going to need it." Shadow said as he turned to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Sally suddenly shouted, halting Shadow's departure. "Would you be willing to join us? If these things really are as powerful as you're making them out to be, then we'll need all the help we can get." She asked him.  
  
"I've got some business to attend to right now. Cleaning up after this thing's mess, for starters." The black hedgehog responded as he leapt on top of the warehouse rooftop before leaping out of sight. Once he did, Sally suddenly collapsed onto her knees.  
  
"Sal!" Sonic yelled in concern as he knelt down and kept her steady.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just worn out, is all." She assured him, catching her breath. "Nicole, how are you holding up?"  
  
"No damage detected. However, repelling that last attack caused me to expend the majority of my remaining energy." Nicole stated.  
  
"Alright. Let's get you back so you-"  
  
"Sonic! Sally!" A familiar voice called out, the two turning around to see the rest of the Freedom Fighters - Tails, Antoine, Bunnie, and Rotor - fly down to them. "What happened?" The young fox asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and worry.  
  
"Eggman managed to make a replica of Shadow," Sonic told him, to Tails' shock and the others' confusion.  
  
"Who's Shadow?" Bunnie asked as Tails noticed the destroyed Shadow robot just behind Sonic, seeing something strange within it.  
  
"Well, short answer, he's someone you don't want as an enemy." The hedgehog explained before he heard some metallic noises behind him, turning his head to see Tails pulling a small green device out of the Shadow duplicate wreckage. "What's that?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I'll have to analyse it when we get back." Tails admitted.  
  
"This could be a problem," Sally muttered, catching everyone's attention.  
  
"What do you mean?" Rotor asked.  
  
"Shadow said that there were more of them. This one alone was able to fight us both off. We might have ended up dead if it wasn't for Nicole." She explained, before turning to look at the destruction caused by the robot. "And if this is what just one of them is capable of..."  
  


* * *

  
-Eggman's Base-  
  
  
"...Imagine what we could do with a whole ARMY of them!" Eggman bombastically declared, throwing his arms up into the air in maniacal glee.  
  
"Well, yes, I do agree that the Chaos Core system is working better than we thought..." Orbot tried to chip in, only for Eggman to turn around and focus his attention on the data on the monitors.  
  
"I had assumed that the Chaos Core could only absorb Chaos Energy from direct contact with the Emeralds. But to think that they can draw it in from the surrounding atmosphere, without even having to touch them..." He observed. "And with a prototype, no less! Once I figure out how to harness the true power of the Emeralds with these Cores-"  
  
"Uh, don't ya think you should be looking for the Chaos Emeralds before worrying about these Chaos Core doohickeys?" Cubot asked, halting Eggman's rambling.  
  
"Hmm... Good point. Without any of the Chaos Emeralds to help our detection systems, finding the rest before those Freedom Fighters do will be difficult." He said as he brought a hand to his chin in contemplation.  
  
Then an idea popped into his head, and his mouth slowly curled into an ominous smirk.  
  
"Unless..."


	13. Scattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tails decides to use the Chaos Emeralds they have collected to help locate the remaining Emeralds. Unfortunately, Eggman has similar ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

  
  
-Tails's House-  
  
  
"How's it coming along, Tails?" Sonic asked as he and Sally watched Tails tinker with the Chaos Emerald radar at his desk. They were currently in the garage attached to the side of the house, a room that doubled as a workshop for the young fox.  
  
"It'll take me a little while to adjust the radar to accommodate for the wavelengths of the Chaos Emeralds we already have." Tails explained as he continued to modify the radar. "Once I do, however, not only will I be able to determine the precise locations of the remaining Chaos Emeralds, but the radar should have a much wider detection range."  
  
"...So, basically, you can detect them from further away, right?" The blue hedgehog questioned, slightly confused by the fox's choice of words.  
  
"Correct." He confirmed, followed by a few seconds of silence before placing his tools down and attached the radar to a large base that contained the four Chaos Emeralds, before lifting the radar off the desk. "Done!" He declared.  
  
"It's good to go?" Sally asked.  
  
"Almost. I just need to hook this up to something strong enough to process the information." Tails explained.  
  
"What, like a supercomputer or something? Where are we supposed to find that?" Sonic asked, to which the young fox responded with an embarrassed chuckle.  
  
"Funny you should mention that..."

* * *

  
"Wha... how..." Sonic muttered in shock as he looked around the room that Tails led him and Sally into. The room itself was coloured light-grey in some places and blue in others, with cables and workbenches covered in complex machinery decorating the walls and floor, respectively. The most notable feature was a large computer monitor on the back wall, suspended above a large control console.  
  
"Like it?" Rotor's voice chirped from the side of the room. "We decided to build this lab for projects that wouldn't be well suited for the garage. We even built a supercomputer for Nicole in case her current processor gets damaged. Oh, which reminds me, when you have a moment, I'll need to set up an emergency data transferal system-"  
  
"Rotor, you're rambling again." Sally interrupted.  
  
"Oh. Sorry." Rotor apologised, taking a second to catch his breath. "But, basically, this place will be used for anything that won't fit the garage."  
  
"I swear, the two of you never cease to amaze me," Sally replied, causing Rotor to flash a grateful smile before moving towards the control console as Tails began attaching connection cables to the radar.  
  
"Okay, once I connect this radar to the supercomputer, we'll be able to identify the exact coordinates of the Chaos Emeralds." Tails said.  
  
"Uh, not sure if you explained this already, but how exactly does that thing work?" Sonic asked.  
  
"This radar contains a small device called a Chaos Drive that periodically generates a small pulse of Chaos Energy that amplifies the production of nearby Chaos Emeralds for a very short period of time." The young fox explained. "So if we use this signal in conjunction with a Chaos Emerald, the pulse will be able to travel further before deteriorating. And with the four Chaos Emeralds we have right now, we can practically cover the entire continent of Northamer."  
  
"No way! Tails, that's awesome!" The blue hedgehog exclaimed.  
  
"Aw, please. If I hadn't come up with the idea, Rotor probably would've." Tails replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"No way, Chaos Energy is more your area. I'd only be able to build the necessary analytic instruments." Rotor admitted.  
  
"Okay, hate to interrupt this little game of 'who's more humble', but right now we've got some Emeralds to find. So let's fire this bad boy up." Sonic interjected, patting the radar for emphasis, prompting Tails to continue connecting the radar to the computer. As Tails was attaching the cables, Sonic noticed the Chaos Core out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, that reminds me. Have you two found out what this thing is yet?" He asked. Tails and Rotor exchanged a look of concern before Tails turned to Sonic.  
  
"Yes, but you're probably not going to like the answer." The young fox said. "Me and Rotor analysed the device, and we detected some Chaos Energy residues from the interior." Sonic and Sally gasped at this revelation. "From what I can tell, it's a small engine designed to store and circulate large quantities of Chaos Energy throughout whatever it's fitted into." He continued.  
  
"So does that mean Eggman has a Chaos Emerald right now?" Sonic inquired.  
  
"I don't think so. It seems more like it absorbs Chaos Energy from the surrounding environment. Just being in the presence of one will be enough to power it." Tails elaborated.  
  
"All the more reason to find those Emeralds before he does." Sally proclaimed as Tails attached the last of the cables to the radar and pressed a button. After a while, three dots appeared on the monitor of the supercomputer, and the coordinates were almost immediately calculated. Tails typed into the supercomputer, and more information about the coordinates was displayed. One Emerald was situated in the Neon Skyline Zone, another was in the Crystal Desert Zone, and the last one was in the Twilight Forest Zone, each of these locations quite a distance away from Emerald Town.  
  
"So the Neon Skyline Zone, the Crystal Desert Zone, and the Twilight Forest Zone." Sally summarised, before taking a moment to think.  
  
"How'd they manage to end up that far away?" Sonic wondered out loud, before Sally connected Nicole to the console.  
  
"Nicole, transfer those coordinates to your database. Sonic, call Amy and see if you can get her here. I'll notify the others." She said. Sonic nodded before racing out of the room. Once the coordinates had downloaded completely, Sally immediately disconnected Nicole from the console and ran out, with Tails and Rotor following, taking the radar with them.  
  
No one noticed the small, spider-like robot clinging to the ceiling as they left...

* * *

  
-Eggman's Lair-  
  
  
Unbeknownst to the Freedom Fighters, Eggman had managed to pilot a small surveillance drone into the lab and was currently studying the coordinates shown on the supercomputer.  
  
"Perfect. Those fools are leading me right to the Chaos Emeralds, and they're none the wiser!" The mad doctor gloated.  
  
"The Neon Skyline, Crystal Desert, and Twilight Forest Zones?" Orbot inquired. "Those are all rather far from our location."  
  
"True. Which means if I want any hope of getting those Emeralds before they do, I'll need to move now." He said, typing commands for his drone to return before standing up from his chair and facing the two robots. "Go check if Metal Sonic's ready. I need to make a call."

* * *

  
-Freedom Fighters HQ-  
  
  
Back at the Freedom Fighters HQ, the Freedom Fighters had gathered around the table in the main hall, awaiting orders from their leader.  
  
"Now that we're here, let's go over the plan," Sally stated.  
  
"We're not waiting for Amy?" Sonic asked, surprised.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll catch her up when she gets here." She assured him. "Now, the remaining Emeralds are scattered in three different locations across Northamer. Our mission is to travel to these locations as quickly as possible and obtain them before Eggman does. We'll store the Emeralds here until we can uncover Eggman's plans."  
  
"Wait. Sonic can use these Emeralds to amplify his power, right?" Rotor suddenly asked.  
  
"Right." Sally replied.  
  
"So why doesn't Sonic just use the Chaos Emeralds to destroy Robotnik's hideout before he can do anything?" The walrus inquired.  
  
"Yeah, last time I tried to do that, Eggman pretty much tore the planet apart, so I'm trying to avoid that whole mess happening again," Sonic explained.  
  
"_Bonté gracieuse_, what did we miss?!" Antoine exclaimed.  
  
"Actually, that would explain those weird earthquakes," Bunnie stated.  
  
"Anyways, we're wasting time," Sally interjected, trying to get back on topic. "We'll be splitting up into teams of three for this mission. Sonic and Tails will be heading to the Neon Skyline Zone. Me, Amy and Nicole will search the Crystal Desert Zone. That leaves Antoine, Bunnie, and Rotor to search the Twilight Forest Zone. Each team will locate and retrieve the Emerald from each zone and return here immediately." She continued. "Any questions?"  
  
"What do we do with the Chaos Emeralds we already have?" Rotor asked.  
  
"We'll be taking them with us. Sonic, Tails, Antoine and I will be in charge of ensuring their safety." Sally explained.  
  
"Uh, why cannot we just be leaving them here?" Antoine questioned nervously.  
  
"If we leave them here, we risk letting Eggman steal them while our backs are turned. Of course, this does mean that we'll be working with targets on our backs, which is why we need to return immediately after retrieving the Emeralds. So no getting into unnecessary combat." As Sally finished speaking, the door opened and Amy rushed into the building, accompanied by Cream and her pet Chao, Cheese.  
  
"What's going on? Your message said it was urgent." She asked Sonic.  
  
"Found the rest of the Chaos Emeralds, splitting into groups to get them." The blue hedgehog explained briskly.  
  
"You'll be heading to the Crystal Desert Zone with me and Nicole. Did you bring your Extreme Gear?" Sally asked.  
  
"I, uh... didn't know I'd need it," Amy admitted.  
  
"Don't worry, mine should be able to manage the two of us." The princess assured her.  
  
"And what shall we do with Cream?" Nicole inquired, prompting Sally to take a moment to think.  
  
"Well, we can't just leave her here," Sally stated.  
  
"Why doesn't she go with us?" Amy asked.  
  
"Well, for one, I doubt my Gear will be able to handle three people at once, and for another, we'll be in the middle of a desert. I don't know if I can risk that."  
  
"We could look after her if you'd like." Bunnie offered. Sally thought about it for a moment before turning to Cream.  
  
"Will that be okay with you, Cream?" She asked the young girl, who nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"OF course. I'll do whatever I can to help." The young rabbit replied cheerfully, with Cheese copying her.  
  
"Then it's settled. Cream will go with Antoine's team, while Amy will be with me and Nicole." She said, before turning to Sonic and Tails. "Will you two be okay on your own?"  
  
"Hasn't stopped us before," Sonic replied, his voice filled with confidence.  
  
"Okay, then. Everyone, let's move out." Sally commanded. Antoine's team left swiftly, with Cream following them.  
  
"Be careful, Cream." Amy called out to her friend just before she passed through the doorway.  
  
"You too, Amy." Cream replied before she caught up to the rest of her team. Sally,meanwhile, turned to Sonic.  
  
"You be careful out there as well, Sonic." She reminded him. "Both of you are going to be working with targets on your backs, and with two Chaos Emeralds, you two may be a priority target if Robotnik gets the drop on us."  
  
"You know me." The hedgehog replied before racing off with Tails in tow.  
  
"I know. That's the problem." Sally muttered to herself before leaving along with Amy.  
  


* * *

  
-Eggman's Lair-  
  
  
Eggman, meanwhile, was trying to call Nack the Weasel, whom he had hired previously to capture Sonic. After a few moments of the screen displaying "CALLING...", Nack's visage finally appeared on the video feed.  
  
"Surprised to hear from you again, Doc." Nack greeted.  
  
"Well, I have an important task I need to accomplish immediately, and I require some assistance to get it done as efficiently as possible," Eggman told him.  
  
"Well, you called the right guy. What can I d-" Nack tried to ask, only to get pushed aside by a green Mobian bird with blue eyes, a yellow beak, and a red neckerchief.  
  
"Hey, Baldy McNosehair!" The Mobian greeted. "I haven't seen you since that fighting tournament!"  
  
"What the... How does he-?" Eggman stuttered in a state of shock and confusion.  
  
"Bean, get off!" Nack grunted as he pushed the Mobian bird, Bean, out of the way. "Please ignore him, he's... well, not firing on all mental cylinders, so to speak." He explained.  
  
"R-right," Eggman replied, before recovering his composure. "Anyways, I want you and your team to go to the Twilight Forest Zone, find the Chaos Emerald located there, and bring it to me. And if you encounter those Freedom Fighters, do whatever you want with them."  
  
"Ooh, I dunno, Doc. I mean, I'd be more than happy to bump Sonic off for free, but if there's a Chaos Emerald involved and I'm not gettin' to keep it... 'fraid that's gonna cost ya." Nack responded.  
  
"Grr... Fine." Eggman growled, before typing a few buttons on his console. "Will that be enough?" He asked. Nack leaned towards the side and smirked.  
  
"Perfect." He replied as he turned back to face Eggman. "Pleasure doin' business with ya, doc." He said before the video feed was cut off.  
  
"Bloodsucking little weasel." The doctor muttered, before turning to Orbot and Cubot. "This is why I don't like hired help." He said before a door on the far side of the room opened, revealing a newly-repaired Metal Sonic.  
  
"Ah, Metal Sonic. I take it the improvements I made haven't hampered your systems?" Eggman asked.  
  
"ALL SYSTEMS FUNCTIONING AT MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY." The robot replied.  
  
"Perfect. Now, I've uploaded some coordinates to you. I want you to go to those coordinates, find the Chaos Emerald there, and bring it back here."  
  
"ORDERS RECEIVED." Metal Sonic droned before taking off. Eggman then began walking towards the door.  
  
"I'll be taking the Egg Scorpion to search the Crystal Desert Zone." Eggman said to Orbot and Cubot as he approached the door.  
  
"Ooh, can we come too, boss?" Cubot asked enthusiastically.  
  
"No," Eggman responded as the door opened and he stepped through. "I need you two here to make sure the production process doesn't go awry in my absence."  
  
"Production of what, exactly?" Orbot inquired hesitantly.  
  
"Hmm, let's see. Badniks, Chaos Cores, Shadow Androids, the Chaos conduction weapon, EVERYTHING!" He shouted, prompting the two cowering robots to hold each other. "Just make sure everything stays in the green until I get back, or else I'm melting you two down for parts!" He threatened before the door slammed shut, leaving the two robots alone and terrified.


	14. Overdrive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and Tails travel to the Neon Skyline Zone to retrieve the Chaos Emerald located there, only to find that someone has beaten them to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

  
  
-Neon Skyline Zone-  
  
  
It had been twenty minutes since the Freedom Fighters had split up to search for the remaining three Chaos Emeralds, and Sonic and Tails had just made it into the Neon Skyline Zone. The two briefly took in their surroundings as they raced down one of many long, suspended roads, supposedly an effect the Zone had on the architecture. The area was exactly as they expected it; countless towering buildings and huge billboards illuminated with neon lights as far as the eye could see - even the paths had the same neon colouration.  
  
"So how much farther?" Sonic asked, deciding not to let the environment distract him from the mission.  
  
"We're closing in on the Emerald's location. I'd say we should reach it in about three minutes." Tails replied, glancing at his radar for verification.  
  
"Good thing we got Sal and the others checking the other locations. Saves us from having to wear ourselves thin trying to get them." The hedgehog remarked, with Tails silently agreeing. Having the Freedom Fighters around did help them in their quest to stop Eggman, but most of all, the young fox was glad to see his old friends again. Even in the relatively short time he got to know them, they had all welcomed him and treated him as one of their own, Sally especially, to the point where he viewed the Freedom Fighters as his family.  
  
...Which, of course, eventually led to him thinking about his own family, and the fox's smile disappeared. He didn't know anything about his parents apart from what they looked like, thanks to a collection of photos that they left him, along with a letter saying that they wanted to keep him safe from something. The logical part of his mind was convinced that this was true since they seemed so happy in the photos... but there was still a small part of him that worried that they were simply happy to be rid of him.  
  
"Hey, Tails." His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Sonic's voice, who was looking back at him with a concerned expression. "Something on your mind?" He asked.  
  
"Sorry, I... I just started thinking about my parents..." Tails admitted, his head hanging slightly.  
  
"Oh. Right." The hedgehog muttered, remembering the fox's plight from years ago.

* * *

3 years ago - Acorn Archipelago  
  
"Look, it's dangerous to be out here with Robotnik's bots flying around," Sonic said to the young, twin-tailed fox. "Let's get you back home. I'm sure your parents are worried sick."  
  
"I... I don't live with my parents." The fox admitted. "T-They left me in a house on Cocoa Island and asked the Flickies there to take care of me. T-That's why I was out here... so I could find them..." He continued before his eyes started to well up with tears. After taking a moment to process this revelation, Sonic knelt down and placed a hand on the young fox's shoulder.  
  
"Hey, it's okay. I know how you feel." He said in a calm, sympathetic tone. "My parents disappeared when I was young as well. Apparently, the village we used to live in was destroyed overnight. My uncle was the one who got me out safely. He told me that they might still be alive somewhere." He confided.  
  
"...And do you think that they're still out there?" The fox asked him.  
  
"Well, that's what I'm hoping to find out, and I don't plan on giving up any time soon. And neither should you." Sonic replied. "You'll find them someday. I'm sure of it." He assured him. After a few moments of wiping away tears, the fox looked up at Sonic with a grateful smile. The hedgehog, meanwhile, spent a few moments in thought about what to do with the young fox before an idea suddenly struck him.  
  
"Hey, I have an idea." He exclaimed. "If you don't have anywhere else to go, I can easily take you to Knothole. It's this super-secret village in the middle of the forest. You'd have a roof over your head, you won't have to worry about going hungry, and it's well protected against robot patrols." He suggested.  
  
"Sure!" The fox responded after a few seconds of consideration.  
  
"Awesome. Let's go." Sonic said as he turned to leave, before immediately turning around again. "Oh, right. What's your name?" He asked.  
  
"Miles Prower." The fox answered.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Miles. I'm Sonic." Sonic replied.  
  


* * *

  
  
"I just wish they told me why they left me in the first place." Tails said dejectedly. "I mean, what was so bad that they felt I would be in danger if they kept me around?"  
  
"Listen, bud. You'll find them one day, and when you do, I'm sure they'll tell you everything you want to know. Besides, I know they'll be proud to see the brave young kid you've become." The blue hedgehog assured him, causing the fox to look towards him and smile.  
  
"Thanks, Sonic." The young fox replied gratefully, before looking at his radar again and coming to a complete stop, with Sonic following suit. "The Chaos Emerald is close by. Keep an eye out for it." He said as the pair looked around for any signs of the Emerald. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic spotted something moving. He quickly turned his head to find his metallic duplicate, Metal Sonic, flying away from the city at high speed across a lower pathway.  
  
"Is that... Metal Sonic?" He asked, prompting Tails to look in the same direction and see the robot.  
  
"I guess he must have picked up the Chaos Emerald's energy signature, same as us." He deduced.  
  
"So, why's he going that way?" The hedgehog wondered.  
  
"No idea. Unless..." Tails replied before gasping in shock and looking back at the radar. The Chaos Emerald's signal was moving away from them - in the exact same direction as Metal Sonic!  
  
"Oh, shoot!" Both of them exclaimed before Sonic raced back at top speed along the path, while Tails chased after him. Noticing a spring fixed onto the side of the elevated path, Sonic jumped onto it and was sent flying across the gap and landed onto the lower path, and into Metal Sonic's path. The metal hedgehog stopped his charge upon seeing his organic counterpart.  
  
"Alright, Metal. We know you have the Chaos Emerald we're looking for, so we can either do this the easy way, or the h-" Sonic told him, only to be cut off as Metal Sonic raced past him and flew into the air. The blue hedgehog stared for a moment before sighing. "Okay, hard way it is." He said to himself before chasing after Metal Sonic, and upon getting close enough, using his Homing Attack to crash into the robot and knock him out of the air, sending him crash-landing into the ground as the blue hedgehog landed in front of him.  
  
"GET OUT OF MY WAY." Metal Sonic growled as he got up.  
  
"That was kinda rude, don't you think? Didn't even bother to say 'Hi.'" Sonic remarked.  
  
"NEW PRIORITY ONE: LOCATE AND RETRIEVE THE CHAOS EMERALDS." The robot stoically replied.  
  
"Aw. And here I thought we had something special." The hedgehog quipped sarcastically.  
  
"YOUR MOCKERY IS FUTILE. LAST WARNING; DESIST OR BE DESTROYED." Metal Sonic responded.  
  
"Okay, fine, if you wanna be like that..." Sonic said before suddenly Spin Dashing towards Metal Sonic, who managed to block the attack with his arms. After deflecting the attack, the robot tried to attack with a kick, only for Sonic to dodge and counter with another Spin Dash, this time striking the robot in the torso, sending him back a few feet. Metal Sonic tried his luck again by dashing forward and swiping his claw at Sonic, but the blue hedgehog sidestepped the attack and countered with a kick that knocked the robotic hedgehog off of the pathway. Quickly righting himself, Metal Sonic tried once more to escape, but Sonic bounded off of the wall of a nearby building and rocketed himself into Metal Sonic, knocking him down onto another lower pathway. Once Sonic landed, the robot slowly got back up and glared at the hedgehog.  
  
"OVERRIDING NEW PRIORITIES. ELIMINATING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG HAS BEEN RE-ESTABLISHED AS PRIORITY ONE." Metal Sonic growled.  
  
"Now that's more like it," Sonic replied, unfazed. He dashed forward with a Homing Attack, which Metal Sonic easily blocked, before launching a flurry of quick strikes at the robot. Metal Sonic dodged every single strike, and when Sonic launched a kick, the robotic hedgehog grabbed his ankle and threw him off the pathway, sending the hedgehog hurtling into the air. Luckily for Sonic, Tails managed to catch up with him and grabbed him by the wrist mid-flight.  
  
"I got you, Sonic!" The fox declared before swinging the hedgehog around and throwing him back towards Metal Sonic. Sonic used the resulting momentum to his advantage and performed a Spin Dash as he approached. Metal Sonic attempted to block the attack, but after a moment of struggle, the attack broke through Metal Sonic's guard and struck him in the torso. Sonic then swiftly grabbed Metal Sonic by the arms and kicked him full-force with both feet, knocking the robot off balance and sent him sliding across the ground, with Sonic balancing on top of him as if he were a metallic surfboard, before jumping off with a backflip and sending the robot sliding further back. Metal Sonic managed to grip his claws into the ground and flipped back onto his feet and dashed towards Sonic for another attack.  
  
Tails, meanwhile, approached the combat from the side, and upon reaching a favourable position he pulled out a device that resembled a metallic hand, with an area around the wrist that looked like it could accommodate a Power Ring, and a trigger-like apparatus on the other end. The device was an upgrade of one of his previous inventions, dubbed the Magic Hand Mk. II.  
  
"It's been a while since I've used this. Hope it still works." He said to himself as he grabbed the handle and aimed at Metal Sonic, waiting for a clear shot at the robot, while he and Sonic continued to dodge each other's attacks. Eventually, Metal Sonic managed to grab Sonic's wrist and throw him onto the ground. As he readied his claw to strike, Tails pressed the trigger on the device, and the metal hand launched towards Metal Sonic, connected to the handle by an extending arm, and struck the robot in the side while it was distracted. Sonic seized this opportunity and swept the robot's legs and kicked him into the side of one of the buildings.  
  
As Tails landed on the pathway, Metal Sonic recovered and dashed towards him. The young fox managed to dodge his ensuing attacks and managed to leap back before Metal Sonic charged up for another dash.  
  
"Tails! Over here!" Sonic called to his partner. Tails rushed towards him as Sonic leaped backward onto his hands while Metal Sonic rocketed towards the pair. Tails jumped onto Sonic's feet and jumped as Sonic's legs swiftly extended, launching Tails high into the air. Before Metal Sonic can reach Sonic, Tails aimed the Magic Hand Mk. II downwards and fired, striking the robot in the back and causing him to crash into the ground. Sonic then swung his heel downward, hitting the robot again before kicking him into the air and using his Homing Attack to catch up with him in midair. He then grabbed onto Metal Sonic and used his Spin Dash to spin the robot around before tossing him back into the ground, causing a powerful crash.  
  
Both heroes landed on the ground and watched tentatively for the robot to get up. Eventually, the robotic hedgehog twitched back to life and slowly got back up, appearing very much undeterred as he turned to face the two Mobians.  
  
"CHAOS OVERDRIVE SYSTEM ENGAGED. BATTLE CAPABILITIES AT ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PERCENT AND RISING." Metal Sonic coldly declared as sparks of energy began to emanate from his body, before lunging at the pair. Sonic immediately charged at him and the two met in a powerful collision, remaining locked in the struggle for a moment before they both rebounded in different directions, landing on the surfaces of nearby buildings and pathways before launching themselves at each other again. The two repeated this for a while, each attacking from every angle faster than the eye could follow until Sonic leaped back onto the pathway as Metal Sonic pursued him.  
  
Eventually, after a moment of the two blocking each other's blows, Sonic noticed that Metal Sonic's attacks were becoming faster and stronger, a fact that made itself all too apparent when Metal Sonic effortlessly dodged one of Sonic's attacks and rocketed into him, sending the hedgehog flying back until he managed to land on his feet and charge at the robot with a Spin Dash. Metal Sonic blocked the attack with his claws, grabbing onto the blue hedgehog before flying into the air and tossing him downward, sending him crashing into the ground.  
  
As Sonic struggled to get back up, Metal Sonic charged towards him again, but his assault was interrupted by a metallic hand grabbing onto one of his arms. The robot turned back to find Tails using his Magic Hand Mk. II to keep Metal Sonic away from Sonic. The robot struggled against the weapons grip before yanking his arm out of the metal hand, causing Tails to lose his balance and providing Metal Sonic the perfect opportunity to charge into him, before the robot grabbed the incapacitated fox and threw him off the pathway, only for Sonic to intercept and catch Tails before landing back on solid ground. In response, the robot calmly charged up a large amount of energy in his chest cavity.  
  
"Oh, boy," Sonic muttered in concern, realising what the robot was about to do before he leaped onto a higher path and raced to avoid the incoming attack, carrying Tails all the while. Metal Sonic fired a large beam of energy at the duo, which Sonic observed to be larger and more powerful than usual, causing the road to crumble at the beam tore through it and forcing Sonic to outrun both the energy beam and the collapsing pathway.  
  


* * *

  
-Angel Island-  
  
  
Knuckles, meanwhile, was broken out of his meditative state by a mysterious feeling ringing through his mind, a sensation he recognized as the Master Emerald warning him of something. He turned to the Emerald and gazed into it, and the Emerald showed him a vision of Sonic and Tails evading Metal Sonic. In addition, the Emerald showed Sonic and Tails radiating a green and blue aura, respectively, while Metal Sonic exuded a purple aura, though this one seemed to be more concentrated.  
  
"Is Metal Sonic harnessing Chaos Energy?!" He asked in disbelief, before stepping back and swiftly pulling out his Warp Ring, eager to not let the robot escape with the Emerald.  
  


* * *

  
-Neon Skyline Zone-  
  
  
Back in the Neon Skyline Zone, Metal Sonic charged up and fired another energy beam, this time aiming it along the pathway. Sonic noticed the attack coming and dodged to the side to avoid it, forcing him to jump down to one of the lower pathways. He had only managed to set Tails, who had barely managed to recover from Metal Sonic's earlier attack, back on his feet before Metal Sonic landed onto their pathway and began charging up the booster in his back. In response, Sonic charged up his Spin Dash, and the two charged at each other at the same time.  
  
Tails, meanwhile, suddenly saw something in the air above them, looking up to find a Warp Ring had opened up, before Knuckles suddenly dived out, the ring closing behind him, and landed in front of Metal Sonic before blocking the robots charge. Upon seeing the echidna, Sonic immediately stopped mid-dash and skidded to a stop behind him.  
  
"Knuckles?!" The hedgehog exclaimed in surprise as Knuckles continued to keep Metal Sonic at bay, even as the robot began to push him back a few inches, before suddenly throwing the robot to the side and redirecting his charge into a nearby building.  
  
"Good to see you still know how to make an entrance." Sonic quipped, catching the echidna's attention. "How'd you know we were here, anyways?"  
  
"The Master Emerald told me you guys needed my help." Knuckles explained. "So, what's the plan?"  
  
"Metal's got a Chaos Emerald, and we need to get it out of him."  
  
"Well, technically, that's not a plan, that's an objective." Tails interjected.  
  
"First, we'll need more ground to fight on." Knuckles suggested, noticing the lack of space on the pathway. The three looked around for a better alternative until Tails looked down and spotted a rather large hexagonal platform that seemed to be used for construction purposes.  
  
"Down there!" He called, pointing to the platform as Sonic and Knuckles directed their attention towards it, before they were interrupted by Metal Sonic bursting out of the building. The team immediately started heading down towards the platform, with Sonic jumping from pathway to pathway while Tails and Knuckles glided down, all the while being chased by Metal Sonic. Tails turned around and fired the Magic Hand Mk. II at the robot in order to slow it down, only for Metal Sonic to dodge the attack and charge towards the young fox. Luckily, Knuckles intercepted and tackled Metal Sonic, sending both of them hurtling into another path and buying time for Tails and Sonic to reach the platform.  
  
Metal Sonic, meanwhile, swiftly broke out of the echidna's grip and retaliated, attempting to strike Knuckles only for him to block the attack and counter with a powerful punch that knocked the robot back. The echidna tried to attack again, but the robot suddenly caught his fist and threw him off the path. Metal Sonic then charged and fired another laser, but Knuckles managed to evade the attack and land on the platform next to Sonic.  
  
"He's getting stronger." Knuckles observed as Metal Sonic flew down onto the platform.  
  
"All the more reason to take that Emerald from him," Sonic replied.  
  
"Okay. So how do we do that?" Tails asked. Sonic thought for a moment as Metal Sonic prepared to engage before an idea popped into his head.  
  
"Sonic Overdrive?" The hedgehog suggested.  
  
"Okay, but we'll need some setup time." Knuckles responded before Metal Sonic lunged at the trio. Sonic intercepted with a Spin Dash that the robot quickly blocked, and the robot attempted to slash at Sonic only for the blue hedgehog to dodge until Tails fired his Magic Hand Mk. II at Metal Sonic, grabbing his arm and momentarily stopping him from attacking. This gave Sonic the opportunity he needed to strike the robot with a Homing Attack, causing the robot to briefly stagger back. After quickly regaining his footing, Metal Sonic swiped at Sonic again, missing once again as the hedgehog countered with a kick. The robot leaped back to avoid the attack, followed up by rocketing towards the hedgehog, but Knuckles quickly intervened and blocked him using his hands. Metal Sonic increased the power of his booster to shake the echidna off, but Knuckles used this to his advantage by gripping tighter onto Metal Sonic's head and swinging him around several times before throwing the robot away, leaving him to hurtle away from their position.  
  
"Now!" Knuckles cried. Both Sonic and Tails rushed towards him and jumped into the air above him. Knuckles quickly grabbed onto Tails by his feet, who in turn grabbed Sonic by his feet, and the echidna began to spin around while keeping a tight grip on Tails as the trio began to build up momentum. Metal Sonic, meanwhile, had managed to stabilize himself before turning around and racing back towards the platform at top speed. As he got close, however, Knuckles let go of Tails' feet, flinging both Sonic and Tails in the direction of Metal Sonic as Tails let go of Sonic before the hedgehog curled up and Tails kicked him full-force towards the approaching robot. The resulting momentum caused Sonic to rocket towards Metal Sonic at blinding speeds and ram into the robot before he had a chance to defend. The hedgehog then turned around mid-air and struck the robot again, repeating the cycle countless times as he relentlessly attacked the metallic hedgehog, until the final hit caused Sonic to ricochet into the air. At the height of his leap, and with a cocky smirk, he used his Spin Dash technique to plummet down at high speeds and ram into the robot, sending it crashing powerfully into the platform, causing it to buckle around them. The resulting impact forced Metal Sonic to unwillingly eject the Chaos Emerald he had contained in his chassis, this one purple in colour, causing it to fly into the air until Tails flew up and caught it.  
  
"Got it!" He cheered as he descended, while Sonic came over to him and Knuckles, the trio forming a collective high-five. Their celebration was cut short, however, by the sounds of machinery, and the trio turned around to see Metal Sonic getting back onto his feet, albeit with some apparent difficulty. Tails' grip on the Emerald grew tighter as Sonic and Knuckles stepped forward to defend the young fox. Metal Sonic glared at the three, assessing the situation before realising that he could not win given his current condition.  
  
"THIS ISN'T OVER." He warned before igniting his booster and flying away, allowing the group to breathe a sigh of relief.  
  
"That was a close one." Tails said.  
  
"Tell me about it," Sonic replied in agreement, before turning to face Knuckles. "Thanks for the help, Knux."  
  
"Don't sweat it. Used to saving your butts anyways." He joked, before turning to face the destruction Metal Sonic had caused. "Still, I never knew Metal Sonic could draw power from the Chaos Emeralds."  
  
"Neither did we. Must be a new feature." Sonic replied.  
  
"Another reason we can't let Eggman get his hands on either the Master Emerald or the Chaos Emeralds. If his robots can use them as a power source, he can very well put himself at an advantage." Knuckles warned, before pulling out his Warp Ring. "Anyways, now that Metal's been taken care of, I should be getting back to Angel Island."  
  
"Oh, come on, man. You can't stay?" Sonic asked.  
  
"As I said, the Master Emerald needs my protection. At this stage, Eggman's likely to try and take it again." The echidna explained as he flung his Warp Ring into the air behind him, opening a portal back to Angel Island. "See ya." He said before stepping through, the portal closing behind him.  
  
"He really needs to get a hobby," Sonic remarked before stretching his arms. "Well, that's us done here. Hope the others are doing okay on their end."  
  
"I hope so too." Tails responded in a worried tone, staring uneasily at the Chaos Emerald in his hand. "If Metal Sonic managed to use the Chaos Energy from this Emerald, then Eggman must have managed to incorporate the same technology found in that Shadow Android into him. And if that's the case, then he could very easily do this for all of his robots." He theorised.  
  
"Either way, he's getting desperate," Sonic noted, before turning to Tails. "Let's hurry back." He said, with Tails nodding in agreement before Sonic jumped onto a nearby road and ran towards the exit of the Zone, with Tails flying close behind as the two raced back home to determine their next move.


	15. The Scorpion's Sting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After traversing through the Crystal Desert Zone, Sally and her team run into some complications when someone else gets their hands on the Chaos Emerald.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

  
  
-Crystal Desert Zone-  
  
  
While Sonic and Tails were busy in the Neon Skyline Zone, Sally and Amy rode across the landscape of the Crystal Desert Zone, both sharing Sally's Extreme Gear. The glimmering sands and towering ancient temples were truly a sight to behold, as were the crystalline formations that had taken the shape of cacti, but with the mission at hand, neither one of them could take in the majesty of the surroundings. Instead, they headed straight for the location of the next Chaos Emerald.  
  
"So, how are we doing?" Amy asked.  
  
"Well, we're getting closer, at least. Problem is, the radar doesn't list the altitude." Sally replied. "Any progress on that front, Nicole?"  
  
"According to cross-referencing with satellite imaging, it appears to be situated at the top of a large temple," Nicole responded, supplying a holographic image of the temple in question.  
  
"I think I see it! Up there!" Amy exclaimed, pointing towards the top of a particularly large temple, from which a bright cyan light shone. Seeing this, Sally turned towards the temple and rode at top speed, and upon reaching it, scaled the temple walls as a shortcut to the top of the temple.  
  
The two eventually reached the top to find a sort of altar, in the middle of which was a Chaos Emerald in a cyan colour. Sally and Amy immediately rushed to grab it, but before they could, a blurred figure raced past and snatched the Chaos Emerald from the pedestal. The two swiftly prepared for combat as the figure landed on the floor, revealing themselves to be a female Mobian bat with tan skin, with white fur covering her head, along with prominent dark purple wings. Her face bore teal eyes, her eyelids coloured a light shade of blue, and her muzzle shared the same tan complexion as the rest of her body, barring her head. The Mobian wore a tight black bodysuit with a bright pink heart-shaped breastplate that left her back and shoulders exposed, white gloves that rose up to her upper arms and ended in pink cuffs, and white thigh-length high-heeled boots with pink cuffs and a heart shape framing the front of each foot. The woman, holding the Chaos Emerald in her hand, stood up and looked at the two with a playful expression. Sally, confused as to who this woman was, kept her blades at the ready if she turned out to be one of Eggman's followers. Amy, however, recognised the woman on sight and gave an annoyed glare.  
  
"Sorry, girls. Finders keepers." The bat taunted, holding the Emerald up close to her face to emphasise her point.  
  
"We don't have time for this, Rouge!" Amy replied sharply, tightening her grip on her hammer as her glare became fiercer.  
  
"Nice to see you too, Amy," Rouge responded, unintimidated by Amy's scowling face as she turned to Sally, who looked between the two with a somewhat confused expression. "I see you've made some new friends." The bat remarked.  
  
"What are you even doing here, anyway? Were you following us?" The pink hedgehog asked.  
  
"No. I was just searching for jewels when I saw you girls heading towards this temple." Rouge replied. "I figured it must be something really valuable if it had you two come out here." While the two argued, Nicole's holographic form materialised beside Sally.  
  
"Could someone please explain what is going on?" The digital lynx asked.  
  
"This is Rouge. All you need to know about her is that she's a thief." Amy informed her, venom dripping from her voice as she spoke.  
  
"I'm also a G.U.N. agent," Rouge responded in mock offence. "And besides, it's not like any of the people buried here will be needing their priceless jewels any-"  
  
"Wait. You said you were with G.U.N., right?" Sally interjected.  
  
"That I am, Red." The bat replied.  
  
"Then you are not affiliated with Dr Robotnik at all?" The chipmunk further questioned.  
  
"Don't be silly. I want absolutely nothing to do with that madman." Rouge assured her. Hearing this, Sally deactivated her Ring Blades.  
  
"Then I take it you would be open to negotiation?" She asked, an air of authority returning to her voice.  
  
"You can't be serious," Amy exclaimed in exasperation.  
  
"Hold on, Amy. The grown-ups are talking." Rouge teased, prompting an annoyed growl from the pink hedgehog, before returning her attention to Sally. "So, tell me, Red. Why are you so interested in the Chaos Emeralds?"  
  
"First of all, my name is Sally." She corrected. "Second, we're collecting the Emeralds so that Robotnik can't use them to power his machines."  
  
"Oh, so the whole hero angle, then," Rouge remarked. "Okay, I see what you're getting at. But hear me out. If I were to keep it, wouldn't it still be out of Eggman's hands?"  
  
"Well, what if Sonic needs to go Super Sonic?" Amy asked, still not trusting the bat.  
  
"Hmm. Well, in that case, I suppose I could let you borrow it..." Rouge replied in mock contemplation.  
  
"This is ridiculous. Sally, we're not really gonna try and bargain with her, are we?" The pink hedgehog asked.  
  
"Well, she's not giving us much of a choice," Sally admitted. "Besides, she may be fundamental in helping us stop Robotnik."  
  
"Yeah, if we need someone to use as bait," Amy muttered under her breath.  
  
"I can hear you, you know," Rouge called out, slightly irritated.  
  
"I'm well aware!" Amy replied defiantly before the ground beneath them suddenly started to shake, interrupting their conversation. "Was that an earthquake?" Amy wondered aloud.  
  
"Strange. I don't recall tremors being prevalent in this region." Nicole remarked thoughtfully. Another tremor occurred, this one stronger and longer-lasting than the previous one, and the temple suddenly started to collapse.  
  
"Run!" Sally yelled. Nicole's hologram disappeared as Amy raced down the side of the temple while Rouge flew down. Sally, running towards the edge of the temple, pulled out her Extreme Gear and jumped on, racing over the step-like outer walls and picking up Amy, who was struggling to outrun the collapse, carrying her down to stable ground and letting her down beside Rouge.  
  
The three continued to watch the temple fall apart until something emerged from beneath the ruins. That 'something' turned out to be a gargantuan crimson robot that loosely resembled a scorpion, with large pincers and a segmented tail that ended in a triple-barreled laser cannon, as well as a set of large tracks to traverse the ground with. The face of the robot was relatively simple, consisting of a single visor-like optic and two forward-facing spikes underneath, presumably to resemble mandibles. As the robot fully removed itself from underneath the sands and stared the three down, a hatch on the top of the robot opened up, and none other than Dr Eggman slowly rose up from within.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the princess, the spy and the brat!" The doctor greeted sardonically, with Amy giving an indignant huff in response. "Sorry you all had to come so far for nothing, but I'll be taking that Emerald off your hands." He continued.  
  
"There's no way we're giving you anything!" Amy yelled in defiance.  
  
"That's fine. I can just as easily pry them from you... after a thorough thrashing, that is!" Eggman replied, his command console descending back into the mech with him in it, as he prepared the mech for combat.  
  
"What do we do?" Amy asked Sally.  
  
"We have the Chaos Emerald, there's no need to engage!" Sally replied, dropping her Extreme Gear back into the air above the ground and hopping onto it. "Let's hurry back!" She continued as she helped Amy onto the board and raced at high speeds away from the mech, while Rouge simply flew into the air above them. In response, the mech simply aimed its tail-mounted cannon at the escaping trio and fired a barrage of laser blasts at the group, each shot kicking up a large volume of sand that ended up knocking Sally and Amy off their balance, causing them to land on a large rectangular slab of stone, presumably the long-abandoned building site for one of the temples. Rouge, meanwhile, attempted to dodge and weave to avoid the blasts, only for one of them to just graze the edge of her wing. Wincing in pain, she was forced to descend to the stone base, where Sally and Amy had recovered from being thrown off their ride, while Nicole's holographic form once again materialised.  
  
"It appears he does not intend to let us escape without a fight." The lynx observed as the giant mech inched closer towards them.  
  
"You don't say." Rouge scoffed, tending to her injured wing.  
  
"Fine," Amy growled, pulling out her hammer. "If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he'll get!" She elaborated, rushing at breakneck speed towards the mech as it traversed onto the stone ground and leapt into the air. The mech folded its large claws in front of it in a defensive manner as Amy came down and attempted to strike the mech with her hammer, only for her to bounce harmlessly off the mech's surface and land back on the ground.  
  
"What the-?" She muttered, completely baffled by the ineffectiveness.  
  
"The armour must be reinforced." Nicole deduced.  
  
"Indeed! This here Egg Scorpion is fitted with incredibly sturdy armour plating! Your attacks won't even leave a dent!" Eggman gloated before the Egg Scorpion raised one of its claws and attempted to strike Amy, who managed to dodge the attack. The tail of the mech raised and aimed at the team, firing another barrage. The group managed to avoid the laser blasts as Amy charged forward for another attack. Rouge, meanwhile, has finished tending to her wing, stretching out proudly.  
  
"Rouge!" Sally's voice called out to her, as she turned to face the chipmunk. "Look for any weak points in the mech's armour!" She commanded.  
  
"Y'know, you're putting a lot of faith in me, Red. How do you know I won't just take my Emerald and leave you three in the dust?" She questioned.  
  
"You can try, but I doubt he'll let you leave with a grazed wing next time." She replied calmly, gesturing towards the Egg Scorpion mech, which was currently busy blocking Amy's attacks. "You want to leave here alive? Then help us fight!"  
  
"Fine." She begrudgingly relented before taking to the air. Sally, meanwhile, connected a Power Ring to Nicole's handheld form, causing Nicole to appear in front of her, her holographic body now brimming with energy and ready for combat.  
  
"We'll create a diversion while Rouge scopes for weaknesses," Sally told her.  
  
"Understood," Nicole replied as the two rushed forward. The Egg Scorpion's tail aimed at them and fired, only for the two to dodge. The tail then focused its fire on Sally as the princess ran around the mech, expertly evading every blast with acrobatic finesse. One of the blasts fired straight at her, but the blast was blocked by the sudden appearance of a purple-tinted barrier, a shield that Nicole had erected as she synthesised a spear out of energy and fired it at the tail. The tail moved to aim at Nicole, but in doing so, the spear struck the energy cannon, disabling it.  
  
Rouge, meanwhile, used the distraction to survey the Egg Scorpion's structure from all angles, hoping to find some way to take the mechanical behemoth down. In her search, she noticed that the joints connecting the arms to the rest of the mech had several unarmored areas, presumably to not compromise the mobility of the arms.  
  
"Hm. That's handy." Rouge commented before the Scorpion's tail cannon recovered and aimed at her, only for the bat to fly away before the cannon could fire its first shot. She flew around until the tail stopped firing, after which she landed next to Sally.  
  
"Looks like the joints are less armoured than the rest of the arm." She informed. Amy, meanwhile, had begun blocking strikes from the mech's arms, eventually pushing back with her hammer against one of the arms as it tried to crush her. Gathering all of her strength, she managed to swing her hammer with enough force to blow the arm back, though the mech recovered quickly and swung its other claw at her. Amy had just enough time to block before the claw struck, sending her flying back and landing in front of the rest of the group, prompting Sally to rush over and help her up.  
  
"You okay, Amy?" Sally asked as she helped Amy to her feet.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks." The pink hedgehog replied before picking her hammer. "Hey, I'm curious. If that thing's armour is meant to be super tough, why does it keep blocking its face?" She asked.  
  
"Maybe the face is a weak point?" Nicole suggested after a second of thought before the tail of the Egg Scorpion aimed at the group again, only this time the barrels of the cannon parted slightly, and a sphere of red energy began charging up between them. Without warning, the sphere suddenly fired at the group, who were able to dodge the ensuing blast.  
  
"Whatever the reason, we'll need to cut off those arms before we can do anything," Sally stated, before turning to Amy. "Amy, I'll need you to keep the arms in place so that Nicole and I can take them out." She requested.  
  
"On it!" The hedgehog cheerfully replied before charging towards the mech once again as Sally then turned to Rouge.  
  
"Rouge, do you think you can draw the tail's fire while we deal with the arms?" She asked.  
  
"That should be easy." The bat responded confidently, taking into the air and flying towards the Scorpion. The tail focused on Rouge and open fire as the bat evaded every shot. With the tail preoccupied, Amy approached the front of the mech as it raised one of its claws, and readied her hammer. She blocked the ensuing attack and held the claw in place as Nicole rose into the air and launched an energy spear into the mech's exposed joint, immobilising the arm. Sally then leapt onto the mech's arm and approached the joint. She activated one of her Ring Blades and stabbed it into the unarmoured area before sliding down, dragging the blade through the mech's metal exterior and leaving a large cut along the joint. Sally retracted her blade once she reached the bottom, and large amounts of electricity began sparking from the resulting cut until the joint spontaneously exploded, taking the arm off.  
  
In retaliation, the mech aimed its tail cannon at Sally as she landed, charged up again and fired a powerful energy blast, forcing Sally to leap back to avoid the attack. Amy, however, got caught in the blast and was knocked back, landing hard on the ground and knocking her hammer out of her hand. She had just enough time to grab it before she noticed the mech's remaining claw swing down in an attempt to strike her. Luckily, Rouge managed to fly down and pick her up off the ground, dodging the mech's claw in the process. Flying up so that she was now hovering over the joint of the remaining arm, she dropped Amy towards it, who then used the resulting momentum to strike the joint with extreme force, completely smashing it to pieces and breaking the arm off from the main body. The Egg Scorpion tried to counterattack by charging another energy blast, but the attack was interrupted by Nicole by firing an energy blast of her own into the energy sphere, causing it to overload with energy and explode, taking the tail cannon with it.  
  
"Now's our chance!" Sally yelled as the mech reversed in an attempt to retreat. Upon receiving the signal, Rouge dived down and kicked the mech full force in the optic, cutting off Eggman's view from the cockpit of the mech. Sally followed up by slashing across the Egg Scorpion's face, tearing into the weaker armour and leaving a large cross-shaped scar. Nicole formed another energy spear and threw it into the centre of the scar, after which Amy rushed forward and struck the end of the energy spear with all her might, sending the spear tearing through the mech, along with smashing the mech's face in the process. Eggman, meanwhile, hurriedly ejected his Eggmobile from the Egg Scorpion as it started to spark and shake uncontrollably before the mech exploded, sending large chunks of metal flying across the area.  
  
"Yes! We did it!" Amy suddenly cheered victoriously.  
  
"Okay, now that Robotnik's been dealt with, let's get the Chaos Emerald out of here," Sally suggested.  
  
"Oh, I don't think so." Eggman retorted. He pressed a button on the console of his Eggmobile, and countless blaster-wielding Egg Pawns suddenly dropped from the sky and surrounded the group, aiming at them.  
  
"Now, hand over the Chaos Emerald or my robots will blast the four of you into oblivion! And don't even think about trying to escape." He threatened. "You have twenty seconds."  
  
"Nicole, can't you hack into them or something?" Amy asked, panicked.  
  
"Given the sheer number of them, doing so will take too long." She informed her.  
  
"Fifteen seconds," Eggman called out. With their options limited, Sally began frantically looking for any method of escape, until her eyes glanced upon the Chaos Emerald clutched tightly in Rouge's hand. She instantly recalled Sonic's attestation that the Chaos Emeralds could be used to teleport from one place to another. She wasn't sure if she could successfully do so, but she figured it would be in their best interest to at least give it an attempt.  
  
"Rouge. Give me the Chaos Emerald." Sally requested. Rouge looked at her curiously, almost baffled by the strategist's calmness and confidence, before acquiescing and handing over the Emerald.  
  
"Whatever you're planning better work," Rouge replied.  
  
"Everyone, stay close to me," Sally ordered, causing the rest of the group to move as close as they possibly could to her. Sally, meanwhile, gripped the Emerald tightly and closed her eyes, concentrating as hard as she could to access the energy stored in the Emerald, keeping the image of Tails' home in her mind all the while.  
  
"Five, four, three, two..." Eggman continued to count down, but before he could reach the end, Sally's eyes suddenly snapped open and a blinding light emanated from the Emerald, enveloping the group and blinding the doctor.  
  
"Agh! FIRE!" He yelled, prompting the mass of Egg Pawns to fire their weapons simultaneously as the group, resulting in a large explosion of debris and smoke. The light died down, and Eggman watched in anticipation as the smoke cleared, only to find that both the Mobians and the Chaos Emerald were nowhere to be found.  
  
"Wait, where did they go?" He wondered aloud. "Did she... Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Can they ALL use Chaos Control now?!" He questioned furiously, fists pounding on the console of his Eggmobile until a ringing sound snapped him out of his rage. A blue holographic screen reading "INCOMING CALL" appeared, and upon pressing a button, Nack's face suddenly appeared on the screen.  
  
"Ah, Nack. I could use some good news right now." Eggman greeted optimistically. "I take it you and your team have retrieved the Chaos Emerald?"  
  
"Yeah, about that..." Nack muttered anxiously.


	16. Hooligans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Twilight Forest Zone, Antoine's team's search for the Chaos Emerald is interrupted when they run into Nack the Weasel... and he's not alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

  
  
  
-Twilight Forest Zone-  
  
  
With the rest of the Freedom Fighters searching the other two locations for the Chaos Emeralds, that left Antoine, Bunnie, Rotor and Cream, along with Cream's pet Chao Cheese, to investigate the Twilight Forest Zone for the last Emerald. The forest itself was filled with trees that grew to dizzying heights, illuminated only by the dim orange light that broke through the canopy and the fireflies and luminescent plants that decorated the ground, a spectacle that the team would have taken the time to admire if they did not have a mission to accomplish. Mercifully, there was enough space between the trees for the team to ride through on their Extreme Gear, save for Bunnie, who opted to fly through the air using her built-in boosters, and Cream, who was clinging tightly to Rotor's leg while Cheese was held tight in her arms.  
  
"So, how much further?" Rotor asked, prompting Antoine to take out his radar, a prototype lent to him by Tails.  
  
"Well, according to ze radar, ze Emerald shouldn't be too far ahead," Antoine replied. "If we just continue following zis path-"  
  
"Mr. Antoine, look out!" Cream suddenly cried out, causing the Mobian coyote to look ahead of him to see what was causing the young girl's distress. To his left, he saw a strange yellow and blue machine, seemingly operated by what looked like a purple Mobian and accommodated two other figures, racing through the trees and was about to cross their path. Antoine tried to steer his Extreme Gear away from the collision course, albeit to no avail as the two vehicles ended up crashing and sent the occupants flying in opposite directions. The rest of Antoine's team returned to ground level and rushed to help him up, who shook himself out of his daze and glared at the other Mobian.  
  
"Hey! Watch where you are going!" Antoine exclaimed.  
  
"Me?! You're the one flingin' your face into other people's rides!" The other Mobian, a purple-furred weasel wearing a distinctive brown hat and boots, replied defensively. The argument was cut short by a sudden burst of giggles from somewhere, the origin of which revealed itself to be a green Mobian bird wearing a red neckerchief, gloves, and red shoes as he suddenly sat upright.  
  
"That was fun! Can we do that again?" he cheered, much to the weasel's ire. Next to him, a large, bulky Mobian polar bear with light-yellow fur, a red beanie and green scarf, along with brown gloves and red shoes with brown toes, got back onto his feet, his face showing mild irritation.  
  
"Okay, who are you guys and what are y'all doin' here?" Bunnie inquired.  
  
"If you must know, the name's Nack the Weasel. And these are my teammates, Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear." He introduced while gesturing to his associates, with Bean waving enthusiastically while Bark simply crossed his arms. "The three of us are a mercenary group known as Team Hooligan."  
  
"'Team Hooligan?' It sounds like you spent two seconds on zat name." Antoine remarked.  
  
"Like you're one to talk, Mr 'Team Antoine'?" Rotor replied.  
  
"As for why we're here, well, rumor is that there's a Chaos Emerald somewhere in this forest, and I have a client that's interested in those things." He continued, the revelation shocking the team.  
  
"Zis client... it is Robotnik, isn't it?" Antoine asked tentatively, slowly readying himself for combat.  
  
"Huh. You're smarter than you look." The weasel commented. "Unfortunately for you, our client's asked us to get rid of anyone that gets in our way." He sneered, swiftly pulling out a laser pistol and firing at the group, who quickly managed to dive behind the trees for cover. Antoine stood against the tree, paralyzed with fear until he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and charged at the weasel, dodging laser blasts throughout. Cream and Cheese moved forward to try and help him, only for Bunnie to block their path with her robotic arm.  
  
"Get back, darlin'. This could get dangerous." The older Mobian rabbit said gently before rushing out of cover, followed by Rotor, and charging towards Nack, only for her charge to be halted by Bean leaping out in front of her. Bunnie's momentary shock allowed Bean to examine her mechanized left arm.  
  
"Ooh. Cool robo-arm. What's it do? Shoot lasers? Missiles? Laser missiles? Oh! What about missiles that shoot lasers? That would be so cool-" The Mobian bird asked before his inquiry was interrupted by Bunnie swatting him away before firing a laser blast at him, which he managed to dodge.  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa! Time out! You're not supposed to start shooting yet!" Bean suddenly complained before pulling out a book consisting of white paper and labeled 'SCRIPT' in large red letters and flicking through it, much to the rabbit's confusion. "See? It says right here in the script, 'kick, punch, THEN laser blast." He stated, only for Bunnie to fire her fist at him, forcing him to bend back to avoid the attack. "Okay, guess we're ad-libbing." He remarked.  
  
Rotor, meanwhile, rushed to help his teammates, but his assistance was interrupted when Bark charged into him, knocking the both of them to the side, with Bark standing in front of the walrus as they quickly got back to their feet.   
  
"Okay, look. I don't wanna fight you," Rotor admitted. "But if you're working with Eggman, then I don't have a choice." Bark said nothing, instead crossing his arms and looking away, as if he was hesitant. Rotor attempted to walk past him, only for the bear to stretch his arm out to block his path, looking at the walrus with a determined look on his face. Sighing in resignation, Rotor attempted to throw a punch at the bear, only for him to catch his fist and throw him into the trees, nearly shattering them in the process. Rotor recovered from the shock in time for him to avoid Bark's attempt to slam his fists down onto him,  
then got back up to block a few more hits from the polar bear before countering with a punch of his own, in a display similar to watching a boxing match.  
  
Meanwhile, Antoine struggled to land a blow against Nack, as the weasel deftly avoided every strike attempted by the coyote, even managing to block his sword with the grip of his laser pistol.  
  
"Now why in the world would you bring a sword to a gunfight?" The weasel taunted as Antoine pushed back even harder, only for Nack to fall backward, balancing on his tail, before springing back up and kicking the swordsman with both feet, sending him flying back. The weasel resumed firing at the group with his pistol as Bean flew past him, launched back by one of Bunnie's attacks, and collided with Nack's airbike. The Mobian bird shook himself off, still clinging to the vehicle when he noticed something in the distance.  
  
"Hey, boss?" Bean said, trying to get Nack's attention.  
  
"Not now, Bean!" The weasel snapped, trying to concentrate on the fight.  
  
"I think I can see the shiny from here." Bean continued, prompting Nack to briefly turn his head to where Bean was pointing. It turned out that there was indeed something in the distance shining through the trees, giving off a radiant grey light.  
  
"Huh. How 'bout that." He remarked, before turning to Bark, who was currently busy trying to fight off Rotor. "Bark, we're leaving!" He yelled, prompting the polar bear to shake off the walrus while Nack pulled out a grenade. As Bark and Bean climbed into Nack's airbike, the weasel threw the grenade towards the team, jumped in and raced off, while the team was forced to take cover as the grenade exploded. Once the dust settled, Antoine, Rotor, and Cream immediately hopped back on their Extreme Gears while Bunnie activated her boosters, and they chased after the trio.  
  
"Miss Bunnie, who were those people?" Cream asked.  
  
"Don't know. But we can't let 'em get the Chaos Emerald." Bunnie replied before accelerating ahead of the group. Nack, meanwhile, continued to race through the trees as he gradually approached the source of the light, undoubtedly the Chaos Emerald they were tasked to find, while Bean continued to skim through the pages of the script.  
  
"Oh dear. Looks like we missed a few pages of that fight." He complained.  
  
"Will you knock it off, Bean? I'm trying to focus." The weasel responded as Bean clambered over his seat and brought the book to Nack's eye level, blocking his view.  
  
"I'm serious. Look! All these explosions that were meant to happen!" The bird continued even as Nack shoved the paper out of his face, before climbing back into his own seat. "Oh, this would've brought a tear to Michael Bay's eye."  
  
Not paying his insane associate any further attention, Nack focused on approaching the grey-colored Chaos Emerald, reaching his hand to the side as he came towards it, and grabbing it as they passed by.  
  
"Got it!" The weasel cheered as he stored the Emerald away. Bean, meanwhile, leaned back in his seat as he continued reading when he noticed Bunnie behind them, rapidly closing the distance.  
  
"Uh, boss?" He said, slightly alarmed. "The cowboy cyborg rabbit lady is catching up."  
  
"What are you talking-" Nack began asking before a sudden explosion sent the airbike flying once again, knocking the trio out of the vehicle as it landed in a tilted fashion. Nack quickly stood back up and looked back to find Bunnie standing near where the vehicle used to be, her robotic arm returning from its energy cannon configuration as her teammates caught up to her.  
  
"What is it with you people and messing with my bike?!" He yelled. "Bean! Bark! Teach them a lesson!" He commanded, prompting Bean and Bark to rush forward while the weasel stayed behind and walked behind the airbike, opening a compartment at the back and beginning to rummage around. Bark charged forward and attacked Bunnie, who blocked the attack as she attacked in tandem with Rotor as Antoine raced past in an attempt to reach Nack, but his progress was halted when a trio of bombs suddenly landed in front of him, forcing him to take cover as they exploded, and Bean dropped down in front of him as he recovered.  
  
"Where is he even keeping all zese bombs?!" Antoine exclaimed, dodging the explosives that the duck continued to toss until one of the explosions knocked him off his feet. As he struggled to get back up, Bean placed another bomb on the ground and took a few steps back.  
  
"The crowd waits in anticipation as Bean lines up the shot." He muttered to himself, using his hands to guide his aim towards the coyote before running up and kicking the bomb. Bunnie briefly broke off from her fight with Bark, leaving Rotor to hold him off, to see Antoine's struggle against the insane Mobian duck. Antoine had just enough time to get back up and dive out of the way again before the bomb reached his original position, causing a large explosion on impact with the ground. "He shoots, he scores!" Bean cheered as the explosion occurred. Immediately after, he turned his head to see Bark struggling against Rotor.  
  
"I gotcha, Bark!" He declared, summoning another bomb and rearing back to throw it, but when he attempted to throw it, the bomb mysteriously disappeared from his hand. Realizing this disappearance, he quickly turned around and found Bunnie holding the bomb in her robotic hand. "Hey, give that back!" He demanded.  
  
"If you insist." Bunnie replied, grabbing the duck's head with her free hand before shoving the bomb into his beak. Bean only had enough time to mutter a muffled "Uh oh." before the bomb promptly exploded, the blast contained within his mouth, and he fell backward, dazed but apparently none the worse for wear, much to Bunnie's surprise.  
  
"Mommy, I don't wanna go to school today..." The stunned Mobian mumbled.  
  
While the teams continued to fight, Cream and Cheese snuck around, using the trees for cover and taking care to not let anyone see them as they approached Nack's airbike. The young rabbit noticed Nack rummaging around in the back of the capsized vehicle and decided to stay hidden and wait for an opening. As they hid, Cheese quietly and anxiously chirped into Cream's ear.  
  
"I know it's dangerous, but they'll give the Emerald to Eggman if we don't do something." The rabbit replied before having to duck down as she saw Nack move from the back of the airbike to a nearby fallen tree trunk, brandishing a powerful-looking laser rifle. He knelt down and aimed the rifle, looking through the rifle's scope until the crosshairs were aligned on Bunnie.  
  
"Say goodnight, girly." He muttered as he prepared to fire.  
  
"Cheese, stop him!" Cream pleaded in a panicked voice, prompting the Chao to swiftly fly over to the weasel, grab his hat and push it over his eyes, completely blocking his view.  
  
"GAH! What the-? I can't see!" He exclaimed as he tried to grab at whatever was obscuring his vision. This distraction allowed Cream to rush to the airbike and grab the Chaos Emerald from the main seat before running back. As she tried to return, however, Bean suddenly landed in front of her, landing on his head and having been dazed from a previous attack. Cream quickly hid the Chaos Emerald behind her back and tried her best to look calm as the duck came to his senses and looked at the young rabbit.  
  
"Salutations, tiny one!" Bean enthusiastically greeted, apparently not caring about being upside down.  
  
"H-Hello." The rabbit nervously replied. The Mobian duck quickly leaped back to his feet and dusted himself off.  
  
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got work to do. Ta-ta!" He said, turning around to leave.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" He heard Cream ask in a quiet voice, stopping him right in his tracks and prompting him to turn back around.  
  
"Huh?" He muttered.  
  
"Why are you helping someone like Dr. Eggman? What could you possibly get out of it?" She asked further, sadness clear in her voice, causing Bean to breathe a heavy sigh.  
  
"Honestly, it's how we stay alive." He admitted. "Someone calls us to do some work, we do what they ask, they pay us, rinse and repeat."  
  
"So, money? You're helping that horrible man for money?!" The young rabbit replied.  
  
"Well, we've got nowhere else to go. At least this way, we get a roof over our heads and food in our bellies." Bean continued. "See, me and Bark, we-"  
  
"Bean! Get this thing off of me!" Nack's voice interrupted, the weasel still unsuccessful in repelling the Chao.  
  
"Gotta go!" Bean said before rushing off to help Nack, leaving Cream to run back to her teammates unnoticed as she whistled to call back Cheese, the Chao letting go of the weasel's hat as he flew back to Cream. Nack swiftly grabbed hold of his rifle and aimed at the Chao, but he flew into the cover of the trees before he could fire a shot. Before he could do anything else, both he and Bean were forced behind cover by an energy blast from Bunnie's arm cannon. The cyborg rabbit managed to hide behind cover as Nack retaliated with a few shots from his rifle when she noticed Cream emerging from behind the trees, Cheese perched on her shoulder and one hand behind her back.  
  
"Cream! Where were you?" She asked, catching the young rabbit's attention.  
  
"We need to leave, Miss Bunnie." Cream replied, to Bunnie's shock and confusion.  
  
"What?! But we're-" She began to ask before she noticed the glimmer of the Chaos Emerald hidden behind her back, and immediately she understood her intent. "Antoine! Rotor! We're leavin'" She called to her teammates, both of whom were busy fighting against Bark and Bean. Rotor looked back at Bunnie with an expression of confusion as he grappled with the polar bear while Antoine narrowly avoided another set of explosions courtesy of Bean.  
  
"You don't have to be telling me twice!" Antoine yelped as we ran back and hopped onto his Extreme Gear, with Rotor throwing Bark to the ground before following suit. Nack aimed his rifle and futilely fired a few shots at them as they escaped.  
  
"Bye, guys! Let's hang out again sometime!" Bean yelled, waving as the group left. "Wonder why they're in such a hurry?" He asked as Nack walked back to his airbike.  
  
"Don't matter. We got the Chaos Emerald, so let's-" He said as he started to climb back into his seat, only for him to stop himself once he noticed that the Chaos Emerald was nowhere to be found. "Where's the Emerald? I know I put it in here!" He wondered aloud, frantically searching for it. Bark looked around at the surroundings to see if he could find it, while Bean thought for a while, until an idea popped into his head.  
  
"Oh! That cute little rabbit girl was around here earlier. Maybe we could ask her if she's seen it." The Mobian duck recalled, prompting Nack to abruptly cease moving before rushing towards Bean and grabbing him by his neckerchief.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me about this until now?!" He snarled furiously.  
  
"You didn't ask," Bean replied with a shrug. Growling, the weasel pushed his cohort away as he stomped back to his vehicle.  
  
"Bark, you're driving." He snapped, while the bear shrugged and walked over to the toppled airbike, grabbing it and practically tossing it back into position.  
  
"Hey! Be careful with her, would ya? She's a delicate lady!" Nack admonished before climbing into one of the side seats, while Bark entered the driver's seat. Once Bean climbed back into his seat, Bark started up the airbike and raced at top speed in the direction the Freedom Fighters left in, quickly catching up to the group. As they drew closer, Nack aimed his rifle at them.  
  
"That's it. Keep her steady." He said as he looked through the scope of his rifle, his aim shifting between each of the Freedom Fighters until he spotted the Chaos Emerald clutched in Cream's hand. Hearing the sounds of something approaching behind them, the team turned around to find the three mercenaries catching up, with Nack aiming his rifle at Cream. Just before he fired, however, Bunnie dashed to the side and put herself in front of Cream, her mechanical arm poised to defend herself, and the blast from the rifle struck her metal arm. The recoil from the impact caused Bunnie to fall backward, knocking Rotor and Cream off of Rotor's Extreme Gear as all three of them fell to the ground, Cream losing her grip on the Emerald as it launched into the air and landed next to Bunnie. Smiling to himself, Nack got out from his seat and slowly walked over to the downed bunny. Antoine turned back to try and help, but his assistance was intercepted by Rotor, who grabbed him as he flew past and hurled him into a nearby tree.  
  
"You're tough, girl. I'll give ya that." The weasel commented, picking up the Chaos Emerald as he loomed over the half-roboticized Mobian, before looking over her metallic limbs. "Y'know, I could always bring you to Eggman and have him even you out. I'm sure a little more self-improvement ain't gonna kill ya." He suggested snidely.  
  
"S-Self... improvement?!" Bunnie muttered, her voice quickly filling with anger as she looked up at Nack with intense rage. Suddenly, she charged into Nack and slammed him into a tree, before raising her metallic fist to strike. "AH! NEVER! ASKED FOR THIS!" She screamed, punctuating her statement with several powerful punches to the weasel's chest, before rearing back and delivering a full-force punch that shattered the tree behind him and slamming his back into another tree. Antoine, witnessing Bunnie's distress, got back on his feet and rushed to her side, dodging an attack from Bark as the polar bear was blocked from giving chase by Rotor. Nack struggled back to his feet, pulling out a laser pistol in an attempt to aim at Bunnie, but he was interrupted by Antoine knocking the pistol out of his hand with the hilt of his sword, followed by a swift kick that knocked the weasel back down.  
  
"Are you okay?" The Mobian coyote asked Bunnie.  
  
"Yeah, Ah'm fine." She replied, trying her best to remain composed. "Ah have a plan. If y'all can get Nack and the big guy together, I can take 'em out in one blow." She suggested before firing an energy blast to the side, destroying an approaching bomb.  
  
"And ze bomb-throwing maniac?" Antoine asked.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll take care of him." She assured before the two split up, with Antoine heading towards Nack and Bunnie fighting Bean. The weasel quickly fired at Antoine, only for the coyote to dodge to the side and continue his charge. He swung his sword at Nack, who blocked the attack with the grip of his pistol and deflected the sword to the side before trying numerous times to strike Antoine with his pistol, kicks, and even using his tail, only for Antoine to dodge every attack and counter with a strong kick.  
  
Rotor, meanwhile, continued to fight against Bark, defending against the polar bear's powerful strikes, when out of nowhere, Cheese suddenly charged into Bark's back, casing the bear to wince before swiping at the Chao, who swiftly avoided the attack. Cream followed up by stomping on Bark's head, prompting him to try and shake her off as the young rabbit jumped off, the distraction allowing Rotor to land a powerful blow to Bark's side before grabbing his arm, swinging him around and tossing him away, the polar bear landing behind Nack as the weasel continued to fire at Antoine.  
  
Watching the events unfold, Bean summoned a bomb and looked between Antoine and Rotor, Cream and Cheese, mentally deciding which of them to attack.  
  
"Eenie, meenie, miney-" He sang to himself before he was interrupted by Bunnie using her robotic arm to steal it from him, the Mobian duck turning back to see the rabbit holding the explosive before rearing her arm back and throwing the bomb away, prompting Bean to chase after it, eventually diving to catch it, and unknowingly landing right next to Bark and Nack, who quickly looked at their partner in confusion.  
  
"Got it!" Bean cheered triumphantly as he got back up and held the bomb in the air, much to his teammates' immediate horror.  
  
"Bean, you moron-!" Nack yelled before Bunnie fired a blast from her energy cannon at the bomb, resulting in a massive explosion that sent Nack and Bark flying a good distance, while Bean stood motionless, his feathers charred black.  
  
"I can't feel my everything." He muttered before finally falling backward onto the ground. The group looked over their defeated enemies, breathing a collected sigh of relief until Bunnie looked at Nack, a cold glare in her eyes as she charged her cannon again and began walking towards him.  
  
"Bunnie!" Antoine yelled as he swiftly wrapped his arms around Bunnie and pulled her back before turning her around to face him, gripping both of her shoulders tightly as the seething rabbit stared at him. "He is not worth it." He told her, the anger subsiding from her face as she calmed down, returning her metal arm to its normal form.  
  
"Right." She said, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "Let's get the Emerald and get outta here." She suggested, prompting Antoine to rush over and pick the Emerald up from off the ground. As they prepared to leave, Bunnie noticed Cream positioning herself behind Rotor, tightly clinging onto his leg, her face filled with fear and sadness directed at the half-roboticized Mobian. Sighing, Bunnie slowly knelt down and reached her organic hand towards Cream, who thankfully didn't flinch as her hand gently stroked her cheek. "Ah'm sorry ya had to see that, darlin'." She apologised, her voice as soft and gentle as she could manage.  
  
"I-It's okay." The young rabbit assured her, her smile returning as the fear subsided. Bunnie returned the smile as she got back up and turned to leave.  
  
"C'mon, let's go." She said as she activated her boosters and flew off, while the rest of the team hopped on their Extreme Gears and followed. Behind them, Nack staggered back to his feet and pulled out his pistol from its holster, trying to aim at the escaping group before they vanished into the treescape.  
  
"DANG IT!" He screamed, furious about having his targets escape before storming over to Bean, who was still lying on the ground, and picking him up by the neckerchief. "You got anything to say for yourself?" He growled.  
  
"Uh..." He responded, thinking for a few seconds, before pulling out a bunch of papers. "Hang on, it's in the script." He amended. Nack, in frustration and resignation, let go of the duck, dropping him back to the ground.  
  
"Fantastic." He remarked sarcastically. "The doc's not gonna like this."  
  


* * *

  
Minutes later...  
-Crystal Desert Zone-  
  
  
"YOU LET THEM GET AWAY?!" Eggman yelled, the volume of his voice causing the weasel on the communication screen to wince.  
  
"I didn't let them get away." He tried to explain, idly scratching the back of his head in a nervous tic. "There were... complications."  
  
"I hope you realise that Orbot and Cubot are being more productive than you! AND THAT'S NOT A SENTENCE I EVER THOUGHT I'D HAVE TO SAY!" The doctor continued, before being interrupted by a notification on the holographic display of his Egg Mobile, reading "INCOMING TRANSMISSION: METAL SONIC". He quickly tapped a button on his console. "Metal Sonic, please tell me you were successful." He said, a clear edge in his voice as a result of his frustration.  
  
"NEGATIVE. PRIORITY ONE: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, AND SECONDARY TARGETS MILES "TAILS" PROWER AND KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA INTERFERED WITH RETRIEVAL." Metal Sonic replied. In response, Eggman clutched his head and began growling in frustration, attempting to contain his anger, until he suddenly had a realisation.  
  
"Wait. So, we all fought the Freedom Fighters at the same time?" He asked aloud.  
  
"Seems like it," Nack responded, himself a bit confused.  
  
"And you were fighting the echidna, Metal Sonic?" The doctor then inquired.  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE." The robot replied. Eggman stared off to the side for a while before turning back to face the Mobian weasel.  
  
"Nack, I'll call you back." He said as he shut off the communication line between the two, before turning his attention to Metal Sonic, a sinister smile slowly forming on his face. "I'm going to need you to make a quick stop on your way back, Metal Sonic. There's something I want you to pick up..."


	17. Launch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Freedom Fighters return home with all seven Chaos Emeralds in hand, but have they let their guard down a bit to early?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Tails’ House-

It didn’t take long for Sonic and Tails to return from the Neon Skyline Zone back to their house, finding themselves the first ones back. Not that this surprised Sonic; even taking into consideration the fact that their target was the furthest away, the journey to the Neon Skyline Zone only took around twenty minutes for them thanks to their speed.

“Mission successful, first ones back, and done in under an hour.” The blue hedgehog bragged. Tails, however, simply sat down on the ground, concern written all over his face.

“I hope the others are doing okay.” Tails said. “If they’re facing anything like Metal Sonic…”

“They’ll be fine, Tails. They’re probably gonna pop in any second, Emerald in hand.” He assured Tails. Before he could continue, though, two heard a faint sound of unknown origin, one that sounded like someone was screaming.

“What’s that noise?” Tails asked. Noticing that the sound was not only getting louder, but also seemed to be coming from above, the two looked up…

…and immediately, their vision was greeted with the sight of Sally and Amy falling towards them! The two didn’t have time to think, question or even run as all they could muster was a brief yell of shock and confusion before the girls landed on top of them, sending them crashing into the ground, leaving all four of them dazed momentarily.

“What the-?” Sonic muttered as he regained his senses, before he and Tails climbed out from underneath Sally and Amy and turning to face them. “Sal?! Amy?!” The hedgehog exclaimed in surprise.

“Sorry about that. Are you guys okay?” Sally replied, rubbing her head in discomfort.

“Wait, wha-? Where did-? I mean, how did you-?” Sonic stammered, trying to make sense of their unexplained appearance, only to be interrupted by an amused chuckle, turning to see Rouge the Bat gliding down to land beside the group.

“I take it that was your first time, Sally?” Rouge asked rhetorically.

“First t-? Wait, first time for what?” The blue hedgehog asked, completely confused.

“You’re not gonna believe this…” Amy started.

* * *

-Angel Island-

Meanwhile, on Angel Island, Knuckles stood in front of the altar of the Master Emerald in a meditative state, his eyes closed and his arms crossed, still recovering from his previous battle with Metal Sonic, when his concentration was interrupted by the feeling of the Master Emerald calling out to him Curious, he opened his eyes and turned around to see what the Emerald wished to inform him about. The Emerald glowed brightly, and an image formed within. The image was simple, yet instilled a great sense of shock within the echidna, as what he saw was a gargantuan, imposing spherical fortress suspended in the air, consisting of light grey metal, but most notable of all, it featured the unmistakable image of Dr Eggman’s face plastered across the front of it.

It was the Eggman’s flying weaponised fortress, the Death Egg.

Almost instantaneously, Knuckles realised that this was why Eggman wanted the Emeralds. But this revelation caused new questions to surface. Was this a vision? It wasn’t unusual for the Master Emerald to show him events that had yet to happen. Did Sonic and the others fail and lose the Chaos Emeralds they accumulated? Did Eggman find another power source while they were distracted?

He was so shaken, that he didn’t even notice Metal Sonic speeding towards him until it was too late, at which point the robot rammed into the echidna full force, knocking him to the ground. The echidna pushed himself back up as Metal Sonic turned towards the Master Emerald and inched toward it, before Knuckles tackled the robot and knocked him back. Metal Sonic quickly recovered and went on the offensive, swiping his claws at the echidna, who blocked the attacks before grabbing Metal Sonic’s arm and tossing him away from the altar. With that action buying him some time, he turned back to the Master Emerald and outstretched his arms towards it, before closing his eyes and focusing. In response, the Master Emerald shone brightly, followed by the ground suddenly shaking as Angel Island began to climb higher into the sky.

Knuckles broke his concentration in enough time to block an attempted attack from Metal Sonic as the robot rushed at him from behind, before the echidna followed up by punching Metal Sonic twice, both times forcing the robot to stagger backwards. Upon trying to attack once more, however, Metal Sonic dodged to the side before the robot struck him in the side, causing him to wince and stumble back a few steps. Knuckles attempted to strike again, only for Metal Sonic to evade before grabbing him and slamming him into one of the nearby pillars, cracking it in the process. The echidna struggled to get back on his feet, only to be greeted by the sight of Metal Sonic gathering energy within the cannon built into his chest. Knuckles barely had enough time to brace himself as Metal Sonic unleashed a powerful energy beam at him, the impact sending him crashing through the pillar behind him and throwing him off the shrine.

With his only opposition incapacitated, Metal Sonic turned toward the Master Emerald and approached it before grabbing it and using all his strength to lift it, the Emerald slowly being removed from its resting place on the altar, inch by inch. The robot resorted to using his built-in jet engine to expedite the process, eventually tearing the Master Emerald from the altar, cutting of the supply of energy to the rest of the island in the process. Knuckles could only watch as the robot flew off at top speed in the direction of Eggman’s fortress. Forcing himself back to his feet, he pulled out his Warp Ring and tossed it into the air in front of him.

He needed to get the Master Emerald back, and fast…

* * *

-Tails’ House-

“You did what?!” Sonic exclaimed, barely able to believe what Sally and Amy had just told him explaining the reason for their sudden appearance.

“To be honest, I don’t even know how I did it. I guess I just got lucky.” Sally admitted, herself still unable to process the truth of the matter.

“Good thing you did, though. We’d have been in a very tough situation.” Amy interjected.

“Still, it seems a bit unusual for someone to acclimate to Chaos Control this easily without prior contact with Chaos Energy.” Tails wondered. “Are you sure you haven’t used them before?”

“Not even once.” Sally replied, before she was reminded of something. “Oh! Speaking of, did you manage to get the Chaos Emerald?”

“We did, but…” Tails started. “We had to fight Metal Sonic to get it. He managed to get to the Neon Skyline Zone before we did.”

“I had a feeling. Eggman attacked us at the exact location of the Emerald we retrieved. He must have been spying on us.” The chipmunk hypothesised.

“That’s not all. You remember that thing we found in the Shadow robot? Now Metal’s got one too.” Sonic explained.

“Wait, what? What thing?” Amy asked aloud.

“Um, mind explaining whatever you’re talking about for those who aren’t in the loop?” Rouge inquired.

“There was a Shadow replicate that attacked a G.U.N. base yesterday. We found a device that was capable of absorbing and circulating large quantities of Chaos Energy.” Tails explained, causing Rouge’s eyes to briefly widen in shock.

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Sally interjected, redirecting the focus of the group onto her. “As long as Antoine’s team succeeds on their end, Eggman’s forces will have no power source for this device.” She continued, followed by the distant sounds of approaching vehicles. The group turned to see Antoine, Bunnie, Rotor, Cream and Cheese approaching them on their Extreme Gear.

“Ah, speak of the devil.” Sonic muttered.

“We’re back!” Cream cheered as she hopped off Rotor’s board before running up to the Amy and wrapping her in a tight hug, which the pink hedgehog was more than happy to return, before the young rabbit noticed Rouge. “Oh! Hi, Miss Rouge!” She greeted as she parted from Amy.

“Well, hello to you too, Cream.” The older bat replied, crouching down and playfully rubbing the top of the young rabbit’s head.

“Antoine, was your team successful?” The princess asked.

“Oui, ma princesse.” The coyote replied as Bunnie pulled out the grey Chaos Emerald and tossed it to Sally.

“You guys didn’t happen to run into trouble, did you?” Sonic asked.

“Yeah, how’d ya know?” Bunnie replied.

“Lucky guess.” The hedgehog snarked.

“So… what now?” Amy inquired.

“Well, with the Chaos Emeralds in our possession, this gives us time to figure out what Eggman’s plan is.” Sally explained. “In the meantime, I suggest that we keep the Emeralds stored-” The princess didn’t have time to finish her sentence as a large portal suddenly appeared in the air, and after a few seconds, out staggered Knuckles, hand firmly clutching his side as he took a couple of steps towards the group, the portal closing behind him, before collapsing to his knees.

“Knux!” Sonic exclaimed as he rushed over to help the echidna back onto his feet. “What happened to you?”

“Metal Sonic.” Knuckles muttered breathlessly. “He ambushed me on Angel Island… and he took the Master Emerald!”

“What?!” “No way!” Several members of the group exclaimed amidst the resulting collective gasp of shock.

“How?! I thought we trashed him!” Sonic asked.

“He must have absorbed the energy from the Master Emerald.” The echidna surmised, prompting an irate sigh from Rouge.

“Really, Knuckles?” The bat admonished. “You couldn’t even keep the Master Emerald away from Eggman for five seconds?”

“Guys, we have bigger problems to deal with!” Sally interrupted, her voice gradually filling with panic. “If Eggman has the Master Emerald, then that means he can supply his robots with Chaos Energy.” She continued before gripping the side of her head in a combination of stress and self-directed anger. “Why didn’t I think of this?! If I knew he was going to go back after the Master Emerald-”

“Sally!” Amy shouted as she grabbed the princess’s shoulder, snapping her out of her panic. “It’s not your fault! Besides, we should focus on getting the Master Emerald back before-” Her attempts to calm the leader of the Freedom Fighters down was cut short by a faint tremor surged through the ground.

“What was that?” Bunnie asked as another tremor occurred, this one stronger than the last and accompanied by a low rumbling sound.

“Uh…” Antoine muttered, a look of pure terror on his face as he pointed at something in the distance. The team turned to look at what was causing their teammate such unrest… and found themselves staring at an ominous spherical fortress with Eggman’s face emblazoned on it as it slowly rose into the air, towering above the city in the process.

“What… What is that?” Sally asked, herself unnerved along with the rest of the Freedom Fighters. Sonic, standing next to her, merely glared at the rising fortress, fist tightly clenched.

“Trouble.” He replied.

Their fight was about to get a lot harder…


	18. The Death Egg, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Death Egg rising into the sky and Angel Island falling, time is of the essence for the Freedom Fighters as they try to recover the Master Emerald from Eggman's clutches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit, fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Emerald Town-

The ominous visage of the Death Egg continued to loom over the nearby town, steadily climbing into the air as the civilians ran away in terror, either in search of shelter or just to gain distance from the imposing aerial fortress. Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters, plus Amy, Rouge, Cream, and Knuckles, stared up at the rising Death Egg in silence, their faces plastered with either defiant determination or stunned disbelief. They knew that Eggman was planning something big, but to see the Death Egg towering over them was still an unpleasant shock, especially now that they had the rug pulled from under them with Metal Sonic stealing the Master Emerald.

Antoine was the one to break the silence.

"So, not to be asking ze obvious, but… WHAT IN ZE WORLD IS ZAT?!" He shrieked.

"That's the Death Egg." Tails replied, himself trying to keep calm. "It's one of Eggman's most powerful bases of operation, covered head to toe in powerful weaponry and housing an almost endless number of his robots."

"So that's what he needed the Emeralds for?" Bunnie asked.

"Yeah." Knuckles responded. "It needs a lot of energy to stay operational. Something only the Emeralds can provide." This revelation caused something to click in Sally's mind.

"And those Shadow Androids, they-"

"They'll have a nearly endless supply of power available." Someone interjected, the group turning their attention behind them to see the black-furred hedgehog himself standing on the roof of Tails' house, before jumping down to ground level. "I thought you said you had this under control, Sonic." He continued, glaring at his blue counterpart.

"So did I. You can thank Knucklehead for this." Sonic replied adamantly.

"Guys, arguing isn't gonna get us anywhere!" Tails interrupted.

"He's right, and we don't have a lot of time as it is." Knuckles conceded.

"What do you mean by that?" Rotor inquired

"Without the Master Emerald's energy, Angel Island will fall out of the sky and into the ocean." The echidna explained. "And to make things worse, the island is hovering near a port town right now. If it falls into the ocean, that town will be destroyed."

"Then let's get up there and take this sucker down!" Sonic declared, prompting a cheer of agreement from the rest of the others.

"Count me in." Shadow announced, the restrained animosity in his voice surprising the blue hedgehog.

"Huh. Thought you were the 'I work alone' type. What's the occasion?" He asked.

"I have my reasons." The black hedgehog replied, looking away. Noticing this, Rouge stepped forward.

"Same here. Seems to me that you'll need all the help you can get." She said to Sally, the young princess nodding on conformation.

"Okay then." She replied before glaring up at the looming fortress above them. "Let's do this."

* * *

-The Death Egg - Control Room-

Meanwhile, onboard the Death Egg, Eggman found it difficult to contain his glee as we watched the citizens of Emerald Town run in fear. He had managed to get his creation up and running sooner than he ever thought, and now, thanks to the Master Emerald providing the entire fortress with near unlimited power, it was now more powerful than ever. With his forces below deck and preparing for momentary deployment, it was only a matter of time before he was rid of Sonic and the rest of the Freedom Fighters, and with that, we would be truly unstoppable.

"Uh, sir, about the energy from the Master Emerald…" Orbot chimed, interrupting the doctor's reverie.

"What? Are we not getting enough power?" He asked incredulously.

"No, no. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's radiating an amount of energy beyond our initial expectations and we have nowhere to put it." The robot replied. "I don't imagine the energy leakage would be dangerous, but it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Should I divert it to the exterior defense systems?" He asked. Eggman looked away in thought momentarily before an idea came to mind.

"No, I have an idea." He responded.

* * *

-Outside-

In almost no time at all, the Freedom Fighters were in the air and heading straight towards the Death Egg. Sally was seated in the back seat of the Tornado 2, piloted by Tails, while Sonic remained perched on the wings. The rest of the Freedom Fighters, with the inclusion of Amy, Cream, Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge, were in the larger Freedom Fighter Jet, piloted by Rotor, with Amy tightly clutching a white cloth bag. The two vehicles flew nearly side-by-side as they approached their objective, even as they saw hatches on the lower portion of the Death Egg open up and release waves of countless robots that flew towards them.

"We have incoming," Sally said into her communicator. "Sonic, Tails and I will act as a vanguard and clear out as many of Robotnik's forces as possible. Everyone else, be ready for combat deployment in case we need assistance." She continued. Everyone in the Jet prepped their weapons as both vehicles flew closer to the incoming mass of robots. Tails wasted no time in activating the Tornado's built-in blaster and firing on the swarm, destroying several robots in front of them. As they got closer and prepared to attack the plane, Sonic intercepted by using his Homing Attack on them, keeping himself aloft as he smashed through the approaching machines while Tails unleashed a few missiles from the base of the plane, clearing out more of the wave of robots. The Jet, meanwhile, followed closely behind the Tornado as some of the robots began to fly around Tails and head straight towards the Jet.

"Looks like we've got some stragglers. Bunnie, Antoine, you're up!" Rotor shouted as he opened the back door of the jet. Bunnie enthusiastically bolted from her seat and jumped out, activating her rocket boosters as she exited, while Antoine followed a little more tentatively, hopping onto his Extreme Gear and flying out as the door closed behind him. Circling the jet, he drew his sword and started slicing at the passing robots while Bunnie swiftly fired her blaster, the two destroying every robot that passed their way.

It only took the group a few moments to clear out the wave of robots and approach the bay doors of the Death Egg, waiting until they opened again to release another wave of robots. Tails fired another volley of missiles into the bay before they could take off, wiping out every single one of them and leaving nothing but scorch marks in the bay. the Freedom Fighters flew their vehicles into the bay without hesitation. Bunnie and Antoine landed safely on the floor while Shadow hopped off the jet and the others exited the vehicles, Tails taking the opportunity to look around the room. He could see that the room was made out of a slightly dark metal with what appeared to be glowing circuitry running through certain parts of it - likely a result of the fortress running on the Chaos Emerald's power - but more tellingly, he noticed the obvious lack of patchwork-like patterns in the walls.

"It's a lot different from last time. Eggman must have built this model of the Death Egg from scratch." He concluded as Sonic hopped off the wings of the Tornado and landed on the steel floor.

"Hey, Nicole, how're we doin' for time?" He asked, turning to Sally, who held Nicole's handheld form in her hand.

"I estimate approximately 24 minutes before Angel Island crashes into the ocean." The holographic lynx reported.

"Crud." He replied. "Sal, if you've got a plan, now would be a good time to let us know."

"I know, I know, I'm working on it." She said as she paced back and forth across the room for a couple of seconds. "Uh… Okay, someone needs to stay behind and protect our transportation. We'll also need to leave the Chaos Emeralds here, just to be safe." She finally decided.

"I could do that." Rotor suggested. "I could even get the jet set up for an emergency take-off, but I'll need someone else to help safeguard it if it comes to that." After a moment of looking between each other to decide who would be better suited to this, Antoine hesitated for a few seconds before sighing in relent and stepping forward.

"I, too, shall stay behind." He declared. The group turned their attention towards him before Sally gave an eventual smile and nod of gratitude, after which he moved next to Rotor. Amy, meanwhile, gave the bag containing the Chaos Emerald to the walrus.

"Okay. First, we need to move the Death Egg away from the town and cause as little collateral damage as possible, so to do that, we'll need to go to the control room. Then, once it's been moved to an appropriate location, we'll remove the Master Emerald from the Death Egg and escape before this place crashes with us inside it." Sally continued. "Now, without a map to help us navigate, we'll effectively be going in blind." She added before turning to Nicole. "Nicole, see if you can access the Death Egg's mainframe."

"I'm afraid the mainframe is heavily fortified. It will take me a little while to access it." She replied. Almost immediately after she said this, a loud warning siren blared throughout the room, and the group could hear the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards them.

"How long do you need?" The chipmunk asked.

"Factoring in power preservation systems... a little over four minutes."

"Got it. We'll buy you some time until then!" Sally replied before she and the rest of the group, sans Rotor and Antoine, raced to the nearest door. Bunnie, however, stopped momentarily and turned to Antoine.

"Hey, Antoine." She called, catching the coyote's attention. "Be careful, ya hear?" She pleaded, prompting a mirthful chuckle from him.

"I was about to say ze same thing." He replied with a smile. Bunnie smiled back before rushing off to rejoin her friends.

In the next room, the others were in the middle of a battle with a large horde of Eggman's robots. Sonic tore through a large group of them with his Spin Dash before launching himself at a nearby Egg Hammer robot, the attack deflecting off its armour as the large robot swung its mighty hammer at the blue hedgehog only for him to sidestep the attack. Sally immediately took this opportunity by jumping off the robot's hammer and slicing her Ring Blades across its optics, blinding it. The robot tried to retaliate by wildly swinging its hammer around, but this only opened it up further as Sally ducked under its weapon and sliced through its leg, followed by Sonic charging into its chest, causing the robot to topple backward. As it hit the ground, Amy, who was fighting a wave of robots behind the Egg Hammer, swung her Piko Piko Hammer at the larger robot as it fell over, completely tearing its head from the rest of its body before turning back and continuing to fight off the other robots. Her brawl was aided by Cream and Cheese, the young rabbit hurling the curled-up Chao towards the robots and destroying them, freeing up the pink hedgehog to leap into the air and smash the remaining robots with incredible force.

"Alright, who's next?" She said confidently, resting her weapon on the ground. Not too long after was she startled by the sound of an explosion behind her, sharply turning around to see Bunnie flying over her and firing her arm cannon at the flying Badniks, assisted by Tails as he did the same with his blaster.

Knuckles, meanwhile, effortlessly smashed his way through the incoming robots with powerful punches, blocking an attack from a nearby Egg Pawn by grabbing its arm before swinging it around and hurling it toward a group of robots, destroying them. Rouge fought behind him, using her agility to befuddle her opponents as she destroyed them one by one with devastating kicks.

Shadow was currently dodging attacks from a group of three Egg Hammers as he fired volleys of Chaos Spears at them, his powers sustained by the vast amounts of Chaos Energy flowing through the Death Egg. Once the opportunity arose, Shadow quickly charged up and unleashed a powerful wave of Chaos Energy, demolishing the robots around him.

Once the last of the robots crumbed to the floor, however, the entire group was alerted by what seemed to be the sound of very heavy footsteps approaching. Almost immediately after, an Egg Paladin suddenly emerged from one of the corridors, charging at them with its lance at the ready. Without hesitation, the robot swung its lance at Sonic, who deftly dodged the attack as he backed away from his attacker and regrouped next to Sally. The two then rushed forward, with Sonic dodging another attempt to attack by the Egg Paladin, after which Sally quickly jumped onto the robot's weapon and leaped towards its chest to attack, only for the robot to swiftly block the attack with its impenetrable shield. The robot then fired missiles from its back, which Bunnie and Tails quickly fired upon and destroyed before Shadow rushed behind the Paladin and fired a Chaos Spear at the robot's missile launcher, destroying it. The robot tried to retaliate by swiftly turning around and swiping at the black hedgehog with its lance, only for Shadow to jump over the weapon and land in front of the rest of the group. The Paladin turned around and readied its weapon, the lance appearing to glow with energy before swinging it and sending out a destructive wave of energy. The group managed to dodge the attack, but the Paladin kept firing energy waves at them, forcing them to remain on the defensive and prevent them from moving. During the onslaught, Sally noticed that the robot's lance-arm had a very small gap in its armour where the arm connected to the shoulder.

"I've got an idea. Bunnie, cover me!" She commanded as she ran forward. Bunnie readied her arm cannon and fired a powerful laser at the Paladin, the robot simply blocking the attack with its shield and preparing to attack, charging its lance again. Luckily, Sally prepared for this as she leaped off the wall and slashed at the arm's weak point, severing the lance from the body and leaving it to clatter onto the ground.

"Knuckles, bring that lance around here. Shadow, on my command, attack the Egg Paladin so that it topples back." She asked as she brought her plan together. The two immediately began following through, with Shadow rushing beside Bunnie and starting to charge up energy while Knuckles dragged the Paladin's weapon behind the robot as is slowly forced its way forward, its shield blocking Bunnie's laser fire. Knuckles struggled as he picked up the weapon and kept it pointed at its back.

"Now!" She yelled. Shadow let his stored energy loose in a powerful blast that rocketed toward the Paladin, the robot raising its shield to block the attack. After a brief struggle, the Chaos Energy proved too much as the robot lost its balance and fell back, skewering itself on its fallen lance and shorting out as a result. The group's collective sigh of exhaustion and relief was followed by the sound of beeping coming from Nicole.

"Access complete! Downloading the map now." Nicole declared.

"Perfect," Sally replied as she opened the handheld computer, a purple-tinted holographic map of the Death Egg slowly materialising in front of her, with their position indicated by a glowing marker. In addition, two of the rooms of the Death Egg, both located on the floors above them, were highlighted, one labeled "Core" and the other "Control Room", along with a thin purple line acting as a path from their location.

"Okay, so it looks like we're on the 3rd floor of the Death Egg. The core is in the middle of the 5th floor, that should be where the Master Emerald is. The control room is on the 6th floor."

"And what about the robots? Where are they being kept?" Shadow asked, prompting Sally to press a few buttons on her device.

"Um…" She muttered before several rooms on the second floor were highlighted on the map. "The storage hangars are on the 2nd floor. Seems like some of them have transfer systems connected to the core."

"Good. You go on ahead." Shadow replied before turning and walking away, much to the confusion of the rest of the group.

"Where are you going, Mr. Shadow?" Cream asked, forcing Shadow to stop and turn back to the group.

"Destroying the hangars. I'd imagine you'll want the robots taken care of before they become a nuisance." He explained.

"Will you be okay by yourself? There are a lot of them." Sally inquired.

"I'll go with him." Rouge volunteered almost instantly, prompting a swift glance of confusion from Shadow and Sally. "Hey, someone's got to keep him from doing something stupid." The bat joked.

"Hold on. I'll send you a copy of the map, in case you get lost." Sally said before typing onto the device again. Rouge's communicator beeped, signifying the transfer, and the black hedgehog swiftly left with Rouge in tow. Sally then turned her attention to the others. "Okay, so here's the plan. We'll split into two groups. One will head to the control room where I can input coordinates to direct the Death Egg away from Emerald City. The others will go down to the core and remove the Master Emerald on my command." She continued before turning to Knuckles. "Knuckles, your Warp Ring can take us there, right?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, it can only handle one person passing through it at a time." The echidna informed regretfully. "Besides, I need to be able to envision the physical space of where I'm going for it to work, and I can't do that in unfamiliar territory without the Master Emerald. And before you ask, it's a similar problem with Chaos Control."

"You're jokin'!" Bunnie exclaimed incredulously.

"Why'd you think I didn't use it earlier to bring everyone here?" Knuckles responded. Sally took a moment to process this information and reformulate her plan, taking note of the number of her allies present.

"Okay... then we'll just split up once we get to the 5th floor." She suggested. "Me, Sonic and Bunnie will head to the Control Room while Tails, Amy, Cream and Knuckles go to the core and await my command."

"Sounds good." Sonic replied, with everyone else nodding in agreement.

"Right. Then let's hurry." Sally declared, and the group raced at top speed towards their destination, unaware of the security camera following their movements...

* * *

-The Death Egg - 2nd Floor

Unbeknownst to the Freedom Fighters, Eggman had watched the group formulate their plan from a large hangar on the 2nd floor of the Death Egg, via a small wrist-mounted computer. Beside him, several Egg Pawns were attaching cables suspended from the ceiling of the hangar to a large, imposing mech, fuelling it with the excess energy from the Master Emerald in addition to the energy that was already being supplied. With a growl, he turned to Orbot and Cubot, who were overseeing the work of the Egg Pawns while perched on a separate piece of machinery.

"Orbot! Cubot!" He yelled. "Those Freedom Fighters are heading to the control room! I need to get back before they interfere with anything!" As the two hastily clambered down from their perch, Eggman pressed a button on his device, and the feed from the security camera was instantly replaced with an audio feed, below which the name "Metal Sonic" appeared.

"Metal Sonic, it seems that the Freedom Fighters managed to sneak onto the Death Egg and are trying to take it down. Get rid of them!" He commanded.

"AFFIRMATIVE." The robot replied before the audio feed disappeared, and Eggman hurriedly exited the hangar to return to his control room.

* * *

-The Death Egg - 5th Floor-

With only 15 minutes left on the clock, time was most certainly against the Freedom Fighters as they raced as fast at their legs - or, in the case of the non-speedsters, Extreme Gear - would allow, tearing through the various robots that guarded the corridors in the process. When they reached their diverging point, there was no time for the teams to remind each other to be safe, just a quick exchange of "Good luck" between them as Tails, Amy, Cream, and Knuckles swerved to the left while Sonic, Sally and Bunnie continued forwards. As regrettable as it was, they had a mission to accomplish, and time was very much of the essence.

"Sally, I've accessed Robotnik's security cameras. Eggman has just exited one of the 2nd-floor hangars." Nicole said, much to the surprise of Sally.

"Wait. So, he's not in the control room?" She asked.

"That would appear to be the case. However, the room itself is quite heavily guarded." Nicole replied.

"What could be so important that he'd to be away from the control-" Sonic tried to ask before something crashed through the wall next to them. Sally and Bunnie were knocked onto the floor while Sonic suddenly found himself pressed against the wall by his neck, courtesy of his robotic duplicate Metal Sonic.

"PRIORITY ONE: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG." The metallic hedgehog droned. Sonic replied by kicking the robot in the head, freeing himself of his grip before tackling him through the hole in the opposite wall and into an adjacent corridor, using his super-speed to pin Metal Sonic in place even as the robot began to push back.

"Sonic!" Sally cried out in concern.

"Don't worry, I'll keep Metalhead busy! You guys get to the control room!" He yelled before he raced down the corridor, dragging Metal Sonic with him. Sally rushed forward and looked into the corridor, watching the two disappear. A few seconds later, Bunnie gently placed her right hand on the princess's shoulder, wordlessly reminding her of their mission. With a begrudging nod, Sally climbed back onto her Extreme Gear and continued onwards, Bunnie following close behind.

* * *

-Death Egg's Core-

Meanwhile, the others swiftly sailed towards their destination, Amy and Knuckles in the front tearing their way through any robots that the passed while Tails, Cream and Cheese stayed at the back of the group. In virtually no time at all, they entered a massive and incredibly spacious circular room, the only thing of note being a large cylindrical device in the middle of the room, with a narrower lower section, presumably a containment unit. The group could see countless wires coming from the device that entered the walls, glowing green energy passing through them all.

"This must be where the Master Emerald is being kept," Amy suggested. Not wanting to waste any more time, Knuckles rushed forward in an attempt to destroy the device, only for a loud siren and flashing red lights to interrupt.

"INTRUDER DETECTED. INITIALISING CORE DEFENCE SYSTEMS." An automated voice rang out as the access platform connecting the core to the rest of the floor disappeared, and in its place, a circular mechanism rose up and covered the lower part of the containment unit, containing an array of blasters and missile launchers, while a section of the upper part of the unit opened up to reveal a device resembling a camera lens. Without warning, the missile launchers fired, sending an array of missiles speeding towards them and forcing them back. The missiles collided with the floor, and the explosion knocked the four back further. Recuperating from the attack, Amy and Tails readied their weapons while Knuckles got into a fighting stance and Cheese hovered protectively around Cream, preparing themselves for battle as the core's defence system loomed over them.

To be continued...


	19. The Death Egg, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Freedom Fighters continue their trek into Eggman's Death Egg, seeking to safely remove the Master Emerald and destroy the floating fortress. But Eggman may have a contingency plan waiting in the wings...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-The Death Egg - 5th Floor-

With the security of the Death Egg heightened after the Freedom Fighters managed to sneak on board, the corridors leading to vital rooms were filled with Egg Pawns standing watch to attack them on sight. In one such corridor on the 5th floor of the Death Egg, the Egg Pawns tirelessly patrolled up and down the passageway when the sudden sound of an explosion alerted them. The robots stared at the direction of the noise as two of them walked forward to investigate only for them to be destroyed as two blue figures burst through the wall, interlocked in a fierce struggle. One of them was their target, Sonic the Hedgehog, who was currently pushing the second, his robotic rival Metal Sonic, against the wall, his brow furrowed in determination and his teeth gritted as he struggled against the robot.

As the Egg Pawns rushed to assist their ally, Metal Sonic pushed back against Sonic using his built-in jet engine, propelling the two down the corridor. Seeing the incoming danger, the Egg Pawns immediately turned tail and tried to escape, only for the two hedgehogs to crash through them, shattering them in the process. The two struggled like this until Metal Sonic made a sudden turn to the left, crashing through the door and into a large circular room. Sonic quickly broke free of the robot's grip and landed on one side of an elevated platform, with his metal doppelganger landing on the other side. The two glared at each other before charging at blinding speeds, engaging in a high-speed battle as they continuously crashed into each other. Metal Sonic eventually got the upper hand and knocked Sonic back, but the hedgehog quickly recovered and dodged the robot's follow-up attacks, before kicking the robot and Spin dashing into his chest, causing Metal Sonic to briefly stagger. The robot retaliated by charging up the energy cannon in his chest, firing a powerful blast that Sonic quickly dodged. Metal Sonic rotated his torso in an attempt to hit the hedgehog with the beam, but Sonic used his speed to race around the room, avoiding the attack. After a few seconds, the blast died down, and Metal Sonic slumped slightly as if exhausted, prompting Sonic to stop.

"Aw, tuckered out already?" The blue hedgehog taunted. Metal Sonic responded by leaping up to a walkway positioned above them, before tearing out a chunk of the wall and placing his hand on the now-exposed wires that were transferring the Master Emerald's energy throughout the Death Egg. The energy caused green sparks to emanate from Metal Sonic's body and after a few seconds, he retracted his hand and turned to face Sonic.

"CHAOS ENERGY SUPPLY AT 100%." The robot droned, much to Sonic's annoyance, before launching himself at the blue hedgehog.

* * *

-The Death Egg - 2nd Floor-

Shadow, meanwhile, had just reached the 2nd floor of the Death Egg and wasted no time in confronting the soulless imitations of himself that had already been released from the hangars. He launched Chaos Spear after Chaos Spear at the seemingly endless horde of Shadow Androids, drawing strength from the energy used to power the Death Egg, destroying the robots in violent explosions. He dodged an incoming Chaos Spear from another android as several others rushed toward him, the black hedgehog sprinting forward before assailing them with rapid attacks and using Chaos Control to teleport himself out of danger from their attacks. And from the back, Rouge watched him annihilate the robots without hesitation or mercy. She had rarely seen Shadow fight with this much ferocity. This wasn't the first time either of them had encountered these duplicates, the event leading her to briefly wonder if Shadow was also a robot. Before long, all the Shadow Androids fighting Shadow had been reduced to scrap, the black hedgehog barely looking exhausted from the battle.

"There should be more up ahead." The hedgehog said tersely, walking forward as Rouge caught up to him.

"You're not usually this tense. Is something wrong?" The bat asked, kicking away the scraps of the Shadow Androids as she walked alongside him.

"Is that why you volunteered to help? So you could play therapist?" The black hedgehog replied dismissively.

"I'm just worried about you." The bat responded, unfazed by his cold demeanor, before stepping in front of him. "Be honest. This is about those Androids, isn't it?" She asked. Shadow stared at her for a few seconds before sighing, turning his head away.

"Those things are dangerous. If we leave them operational, there's no telling what Eggman will use them for, or how powerful they can become." He replied, his stoic exterior unchanging.

"I know. But you don't have to do everything by yourself." She said, crossing her arms. "I know you probably don't care, but... if you need someone to talk to, I'll be happy to listen." Shadow turned his head to look at her, before raising his hand and firing a Chaos Spear past her. The bat didn't even flinch, instead turning to find that the Spear had hit a Shadow Android that tried to ambush them, resulting in a gaping hole in its chest as it fell to the floor.

"We should complete our mission," Shadow stated as he walked past her and continued on his path. Rouge stayed in place, looking down with a concerned look.

"Rouge?" The black hedgehog called, catching her attention as she turned to face him, his head turned back to look at her. "Thank you." He continued before turning back and walking away. Rouge breathed a sigh of relief before running after him.

* * *

-Death Egg - Control Room-

In the control room, meanwhile, multiple Egg Pawns equipped with powerful weaponry marched around the control room as they guarded it, obeying their creator's orders to not allow anyone to access the room. Suddenly, the door was blown apart in a powerful explosion, the remnants smacking into a few Egg Pawns as Sally and Bunnie charged into the room and attacked them, with Sally slicing them apart with her Ring Blades and Bunnie firing her arm cannon, as they both dodged the robots' attacks. Once they were dispatched, reinforcements charged into the control room, and Bunnie charged ahead to fight them off.

"I'll handle 'em! You get this hunk a' tin away from the city." She yelled. Sally nodded and approached the command console and plugged Nicole in, before swiftly typing in commands, the words "ACCESS GRANTED" eventually appearing on the central monitor.

"Alright, we need to move the Death Egg as far away from the city as possible. We can't let it fall nearby any civilized areas." Sally stated.

"We would also need to make sure to minimize any disruptions to the ecosystem as a result of the crash." Nicole replied. Sally put her hand to her chin and thought for a second.

"That pretty much narrows down our options to deserts. Are there any nearby?" She asked. Nicole fell silent for a moment as she scanned the nearby landscape before she replied.

"Yes. There's a desert area accessible within under 3 minutes at full speed. No inhabited areas located." She said, showing the area in question along with the coordinates.

"Okay then. Divert as much power as possible to the thrusters and move the Death Egg to that location. And lock Eggman out of the system so he can't undo it." She commanded as she typed the coordinates into the console.

"Already on it." Nicole replied, and within seconds, Sally felt the floor shift slightly as the Death Egg began to move to the specified location. Sally then removed Nicole from the console as Bunnie destroyed the last remaining Egg Pawns, and the two fled the room. Meanwhile, Eggman was approaching the control room with his two robotic cohorts when he felt the Death Egg move and immediately rushed towards the control room to find various Egg Pawns broken and scattered around the room. Realizing that the Freedom Fighters had already been here, he moved to the console and saw that the Death Egg was moving to a new location. He tried to type in commands to stop it, but the screen displayed the message "ACCESS DENIED", and he bashed his fists on the console in frustration.

"Blast! Those insufferable pests locked me out of the system!" He shouted.

"Um, sir?" Orbot tried to get his attention, terrified at his creator's fury.

"What?!" Eggman snapped as he turned around. Both robots winced in fear before Orbot continued.

"I-It appears that the hangars holding the Shadow Androids have all been destroyed." He reported. Eggman looked away, hands clenching in anger, before turning back to the frightened Orbot.

"Orbot! Status update on the Egg Dragon!"

"Uh, s-seventy-three percent, sir." He reported.

"That should be enough," Eggman replied as he started to walk away. "I'm heading back to Hangar E. You two get yourselves to the escape pod."

Sally and Bunnie, meanwhile, raced through the corridors of the Death Egg, having reached the 5th floor and now on their way to the core of the Death Egg. Sally pulled out her communicator and dialed Tails, the communicator ringing for a bit before Tails' voice spoke up.

"Hello?" He asked as noise erupted from Tails' side of the call.

"Tails, have you reached the core yet?" Sally asked.

"Uh... yeah!" He replied, a little apprehension in his voice before another explosion sounded.

"Tails, what's going on over there?" Sally questioned.

"The core has its own defense system! We're trying to hold it off!" Tails explained.

"Okay, I'm on my way there now. Just hold on." She replied before hanging up, then dialing Sonic's communicator, waiting for a connection before speaking. "Sonic, when you're done with Metal Sonic, get to the core! Tails and the others need help taking down the defense system!"

"I might be a bit late!" Sonic replied as he held back the powered up Metal Sonic before he was flung across the room and against the wall. As he struggled to get back up, he noticed that the hole in the wall that Metal Sonic made was still sparking, and Chaos Energy was still flowing from it. Thinking fast, he dodged an attack from Metal Sonic before calling Rotor.

"Yo, Rotes, you got a sec?" He asked as he continued to evade his robotic duplicate.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Rotor replied.

"Okay, you remember that thing we found in the Shadow-bot?" He continued as he dodged a swipe from the robot.

"Yeah, what about it?" Rotor asked. Metal Sonic began to charge up energy to his chest cannon again before firing, which Sonic evaded.

"So, let's say, for example, that it gets a little too much juice pumped into it. What would happen?" He asked. Rotor took a second to reply.

"Hmm... I don't know for sure, but I think an overload would force the machine to discharge the excess energy, and the resulting power surge could short-circuit the machine." Rotor answered.

"Awesome, thanks!" Sonic replied before cutting off. He continued to dodge the robot's attacks before Metal Sonic began to run low on energy again and leaped up to the upper levels to refuel, jamming his hand into the flowing energy, only to turn around in surprise as Sonic followed him up and kicked him in the chest, followed by using his super-speed to push the robot into the severed energy cable.

"Hey, don't stop on my account!" He quipped as he continued to push. He quickly noticed that Metal Sonic began to charge up his cannon again, and he jumped onto Metal Sonic's head, keeping his hands on the robot as the shot fired, only to quickly swing down and kick the robot in the face, disrupting the energy blast. Sonic then turned the robot around and forced him into the energy cable, watching as Metal Sonic began to overload. After a few seconds, Sonic leaped back and watched as Metal Sonic staggered out of the wall, aimlessly firing his energy cannon in an attempt to discharge the excess energy before he convulsed as green sparks began to fly erratically from his body. Eventually, the sparks stopped, and Metal Sonic became limp before he fell onto the ground, deactivated. Sighing in relief, Sonic raced out of the room to assist his friends in the Death Egg's core.

* * *

-Death Egg's Core-

Meanwhile, in the core, Tails and the others were still under attack from the core's defenses as they tried to make a dent in its armor, albeit to no avail, as none of their weapons or attacks left so much as a scratch, something Tails quickly discovered as he tried to fire his energy blaster at the cannon only to see that it had no effect, and the cannon rotated to aim at him before charging energy into the base of its barrel. Tails manage to swiftly dodge before the powerful blast fired, but the explosion from the impact still threw him back and onto the floor. He struggled to get up as the defense system fired another volley of missiles at him, only for them to be intercepted as Cheese charged through them, destroying them. Cream landed in front of Tails and caught Cheese as he returned, slightly dazed from the impact. The young rabbit hugged the Chao as she turned to Tails.

"Are you okay, Tails?" She asked as the fox got back to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied before looking up at the cannon, while Amy and Knuckles kept the defenses distracted. "That's one tough defense system" He pondered, trying to figure out how to take it down.

"Tails!" They heard Sally's voice cry out, and turned to see the Mobian chipmunk rushing towards them alongside Bunnie, though Sonic is nowhere to be found.

"Where's Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Metal Sonic ambushed us on the way to the control room. He's keeping him at bay." She replied, before looking at the core's defense system. "So, what's the situation?" She asked.

"Not so good, Miss Sally. None of us have been able to do anything to stop the defenses." Cream replied sadly. Suddenly, Tails came up with an idea.

"Hey, what if we fired into that big cannon while it was charging up?" He wondered aloud.

"And risk blowing ourselves up in the process?" Knuckles asked incredulously, having overheard the conversation while still avoiding the blasts that came from the turrets. Sally thought about this suggestion for a few seconds.

"If the armour is heavily reinforced, it might be our only chance at taking it down. But what about the Master Emerald?" Sally asked.

"The metal composing the defense system and the core should dampen the backward force of the explosion enough to leave the Master Emerald intact," Nicole reported. "And I would advise we act now. The Death Egg will have reached its destination by the time we disable the defenses."

"Alright then." Sally replied before turning to her allies. "Tails, Bunnie, you two will need to get to the cannon and fire once it begins charging. Everyone else, focus on clearing a path and keeping them safe." Tails and Bunnie nodded before dashing towards the main cannon of the defense system. While Knuckles stopped one of the turrets from turning while Amy deflected the blasts of the other turret as she charged towards it before throwing her hammer into one of the barrels, causing the turret to explode as soon as it fired and flinging the hammer back into Amy's grip.

At the same time, the core defenses fired another round of missiles at the group, which were intercepted as Sally sliced through them with her Ring Blades, while Cheese charged through the rest, the pair destroying the missiles before they could make contact, allowing Tails and Bunnie to jump up to the main cannon, hanging onto the edge of the barrel. The second they saw the energy gathering in the other end, they aimed their weapons and fired into the barrel, leaping off immediately after and joining their allies as the energy within overloaded the defence system, sparking violently.

"Everyone, get behind me!" Nicole shouted as she appeared in front of them and erected a barrier around the group, and the defense system exploded, engulfing the surrounding area in flames, the Freedom Fighters protected by Nicole's barrier. Once the explosion subsided, the surrounding floor was scorched, the occasional flame flickering, and the access area of the core had been bent and warped from the explosion, while the lights and circuitry had died from the resulting loss of power. Nicole dispelled her barrier and Knuckles rushed forward to free the master Emerald, while the holographic lynx collapsed in exhaustion, her body beginning to flicker.

"Nicole!" Sally cried out as she rushed to her friend.

"I'm fine. Although my power is nearly depleted. I may need to preserve power for a while." The lynx replied as her body disappeared, leaving her computer on the floor for Sally to pick up. Knuckles, meanwhile, tore the twisted walls of the core apart, revealing the Master Emerald, wired to the core's interior and completely unscathed. As the echidna proceeded to tear off the wires, Sonic raced into the room.

"Hey, guys! Got here as quick as I... could?" Sonic trailed off as he saw that the defense system was already destroyed, and Knuckles was already in the middle of removing the Master Emerald. "Aw, I missed out on all the action?" He moaned sadly, eliciting a giggle from Sally as she stood up to face him.

"It's not like you to be late." She teased.

"Yeah, you can thank Metal Sonic for that." The hedgehog replied before Knuckles finally removed the last of the wires and pulled the Master Emerald out of the core, turning to the group.

"You guys need any help?" The echidna asked.

"Don't worry about us. You just focus on getting that thing back to Angel Island." Sonic replied.

"Got it. Thanks, by the way." Knuckles responded as he opened up his Warp Ring and carried the Master Emerald through, preparing to return it to Angel Island, the portal closing behind him.

* * *

-Death Egg - 2nd Floor-

As the others battled and destroyed the core's defenses, Shadow and Rouge approached the gargantuan doors of another hangar, the last one they had to destroy.

"This must be the last one," Shadow stated as he charged up Chaos Energy and prepared to enter the hangar. Rouge, however, heard something on the other side of the door, and whatever it was, it seemed to be powering up. She gasped in shock as she realised what was about to happen.

"Get down!" She screamed as she dived and pushed Shadow out of the way, just in time for something massive to smash through the hangar doors and rush past them. Shadow and Rouge looked on in shock, getting the briefest glimpse of something large and mechanical.

"What was that thing?" Rouge asked as Shadow stood up and looked into the now vacant hangar, noticing the large space and multiple disconnected cables hanging from the ceiling, apparently supplying whatever they were attached to with Chaos Energy.

"No idea. But whatever it was, it looks like it required a lot of Chaos Energy. I doubt it's another one of Eggman's rank and file." Shadow replied. Before they could question any further, the lights suddenly dimmed, as did the glowing circuitry embedded in the walls, a sign that the Master Emerald had been removed from the Death Egg. Almost immediately after, Rouge's communicator began to ring, prompting the bat to answer.

"Rouge. We've recovered the Master Emerald. Has everything been successful on your end?" Sally's voice asked.

"Sort of. Something big escaped before we could trash it." The bat replied.

"How big?" Sally inquired.

"Big enough to need its own hangar and, from the looks of it, a ton of Chaos Energy. I don't want to alarm you, but it might be headed your way." Rouge said as she looked back at the empty hangar.

"Understood. Make your way to the rendezvous point. We're on our way." She said as she switched off the communicator.

* * *

-Death Egg's Core-

The information she received from Rouge caused Sally to become concerned. Whatever had escaped Shadow and Rouge, it was apparently something big and fueled by a tremendous amount of Chaos Energy. Such a machine would greatly hinder their chances of escaping the Death Egg, so Sally decided they needed to hurry.

"Problem?" Sonic asked, snapping Sally's attention back to the hedgehog.

"Something escaped. We'll have to move quickly." She replied, before turning to the rest of the Freedom Fighters. "Okay, everyone, let's get back to Rotor and Antoine before Robotnik has a chance… to…" She trailed off as the Freedom Fighters heard sounds of distant crashing, trying to determine where the noises were coming from, before one of the walls suddenly exploded without warning, the Mobians adopting a defensive stance as the prepared to engage whatever was about to come through.

"Going somewhere?" The unmistakable voice of Dr Eggman asked rhetorically as a large mech slowly inched its way through the smoke. The machine resembled a large, intimidating dragon, complete with sharp teeth and claws, wing-like structures present on its back, and a large, powerful tail, all in the same red and yellow colour scheme favoured by the mad doctor. However, what was most prominent was the multiple glowing green lines that spanned across the mech's body, similar to the ones found throughout the Death Egg - a sign that this robot was powered by the energy harvested from the Master Emerald. The group stared down this titanic adversary, even as its piercing yellow eyes glowed ominously...

_To be continued..._


	20. The Death Egg, Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Master Emerald has been retrieved and the Death Egg has begun to fall from the sky, but Eggman is not going to make the Freedom Fighters' escape easy. The final battle approaches...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit, fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Angel Island-

The floating island continued to plummet out of the sky and towards the sea underneath, the risk of devastating the nearby port town too great to ignore. As it fell, the portal formed by the Warp Ring opened up and allowed Knuckles through, carrying the Master Emerald as he landed next to the shrine. Wasting no time, the echidna hurried over and placed the Master Emerald in its rightful place, and it began to glow. Within seconds, the island slowed its descent before stopping, the power of the Master Emerald allowing it to rise back into the sky. With a sigh of relief, Knuckles turned around and looked over to the Death Egg, the ominous, metallic fortress vaguely visible in the distance as it had been moved to a safer location, safe in the knowledge that the others could handle whatever came next...

* * *

-Death Egg's Core-

The Freedom Fighters, meanwhile, remained in a defensive stance as Eggman's Egg Dragon towered over them, its eyes glowing with a sinister light as it crawled its way into the room.

"Quite the bold move, moving the Death Egg away from the city to crash it." Eggman's voice sounded from the mech's speaker. "Though I must admit, I really don't appreciate you making all my hard work go to waste."

"No need to thank us." Sonic snarked. "Besides, you might as well throw in the towel while you still can. You've got no Shadow Androids, no Master Emerald, and in about... a couple of minutes, you'll have no Death Egg."

"True, but fortunately, I prepared for this situation," Eggman responded, sounding almost unnervingly calm. Within the mech's cockpit, he pressed a button on the control console in front of him.

"SELF-DESTRUCTION SEQUENCE INITIATED. THREE MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION." An automated voice sounded from the mech, eliciting a shocked reaction from the Freedom Fighters.

"Self-destruct?!" Cream echoed fearfully.

"That's right! In three minutes, this place will be blown to pieces." The doctor replied. "Call it a little insurance policy - specifically, ensuring you rats go down with this fortress!" He continued. In response, Bunnie quickly fired a shot from her arm cannon into the mech's optic before racing past it and through the exit, the rest of the group following her. The mech recovered in time to slam its tail in front of the exit, though the only one hindered was Sally, who was sent flying back from the attack before landing safely, the underside of her Extreme Gear damaged and rendering it inoperable. Hissing in frustration, she dodged another swipe of the mech's tail, only to be left vulnerable as the Egg Dragon unleashed a stream of green flames from its mouth. Before it could connect, however, she was saved by Sonic, who had raced back from the corridor and caught her, the flames striking the back wall of the room and hole of melted steel. As this happened, Tails stopped and turned around to see them, Sonic carrying Sally protectively in his arms, a gesture that brought back memories for both of them.

"Sonic! Sally!" He called out in worry.

"Don't worry, we'll catch up! You guys get to the hangar! And tell Rotor to get the Chaos Emeralds ready!" The blue hedgehog replied before racing through the hole created by Eggman's attack, narrowly evading another stream of flames as he raced through the next corridor, while Sally activated her communicator and began to contact Rouge and Rotor.

"Eggman's triggered the Death Egg's self-destruct sequence! We have less than three minutes until it explodes! Rotor, get the jet ready for evacuation! Everyone else, get to the hangar, quickly!" She quickly yelled before cutting the communication. Sonic sped through the Death Egg's dimly lit corridors, weaving through the remnants of Eggman's forces.

* * *

-Death Egg - 5th Floor-

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the 5th floor of the Death Egg, the deactivated body of Metal Sonic slowly reactivated, his eyes lighting back up as he slowly clambered to his feet, his body still damaged after his fight with his organic counterpart. Before he could analyze his surroundings, the words "ALERT: SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED." appeared on his HUD, accompanied by a timer counting down from two minutes and thirty seconds. The robot immediately used what energy he had left and began to quickly escape the doomed fortress.

Sonic and Sally, on the other hand, continued to race through the 5th floor, speeding towards the way down to the 2nd floor. As soon as they spotted and headed towards it, however, the Egg Dragon immediately crashed through the wall in front of them and blocked their progress. The hedgehog stopped and turned on his feet, carrying Sally with him and running through another corridor as the mech chased them, destroying the walls of the Death Egg in the process. Sonic managed to make a sharp turn to avoid the mech's powerful flames, forcing the mech to crash into the corner and force its way through. This gave Sonic an idea, as he began to pick up speed and look for a window, finding one nearby and rushing towards it, the Egg Dragon in hot pursuit. Before the mech could close in on them, Sonic sped to the right and left the Egg Dragon to crash through the window and out of the Death Egg. With Eggman now shaken off, Sonic raced along the path as he looked for an alternative exit.

"Alright, there's gotta be some sort of elevator shaft somewhere. If we can just find it-"

"Uh, Sonic?" Sally interrupted as she looked outside. Sonic turned to see what had gotten her attention and noticed the Egg Dragon, its wings now unfurled and radiating jets of energy, while the body had been converted into a sleeker, more aerodynamic form, its hind legs tucked into its lower body and its tail appearing to have lengthened.

"Of course it can fly." The hedgehog sighed in annoyance as the Dragon fired a volley of javelin-like energy missiles at the pair. Sonic narrowly avoided the barrage as they crashed through the windows and exploded on contact with the walls, the blue hedgehog staggering a few times as a result of the blasts, and being forced to dive to the side to avoid a direct hit from one of the missiles, sheltering Sally protectively as the Egg Dragon sailed past.

"You okay?" Sonic asked once the assault had subsided.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She responded, looking over at the wall and noticing a door for a cargo elevator. "Over there!" She shouted. Sonic got back up and rushed over to the door, examining it before backing up a bit.

"Hang on tight!" He warned as Sally readied herself. Once she did, Sonic charged up a Spin Dash and tore through the door, racing down the elevator shaft until he reached his destination and charged through another elevator door, landing on the 3rd floor of the Death Egg. Wasting no time, the hedgehog quickly dashed in the direction of the hangar.

* * *

-Death Egg Hangar-

Meanwhile, at the hangar, Antoine and Rotor were anxiously waiting for their teammates to arrive, surrounded by the broken forms of various robots that they fended off while protecting their transportation. The door at the side of the room suddenly opened, allowing the rest of the group, except Sonic and Sally, to enter and immediately rush inside of the jet, which had been prepared for an immediate take-off.

"Where's Sonic and Sally?" Rotor asked as Tails approached him.

"Eggman attacked us and we got separated. He wanted you to have the Chaos Emeralds ready when he gets here." The young fox replied. Rotor immediately pulled out the bag containing the Chaos Emeralds, and as if on cue, Sonic sped into the hangar with Sally in his arms, setting her down once he stopped.

"Awesome. Thanks, Rotor." He said, taking the Emeralds as Rotor handed them to him. "Alright, there's not much time 'til this place blows, so you guys need to get outta here. I'm gonna go deal with ol' Nosehair." He continued as he began to walk away.

"Hey, wait-" Sally called out, prompting Sonic to turn back with a smile.

"Take it easy, Sal. I got this." He assured her. Before she could reply, Rouge poked her head out of the jet's seating area.

"Uh, guys? Not to interrupt your little moment, but we've got to watch the clock!" She reminded them somewhat impatiently. Sally stared for a few seconds before turning back to Sonic.

"Be careful." She pleaded as she rushed onto the Tornado. The two planes then stared up and flew out of the hangar, leaving Sonic alone on the hangar. Grinning with confidence, he took a few steps back before running towards the edge and leaping off, diving off the Death Egg and descending rapidly. He opened the bag as he fell and the Chaos Emeralds, now released, began to surround him in a circle, filling his body with their power. Crossing his arms as their power flowed into him, the Emeralds themselves eventually allowing themselves to be absorbed, the hedgehog eventually spread his arms wide and unleashed a wave of power. His blue fur turned to a brilliant gold colour, his eyes turning from green to red, and his quills turned upwards, all while his body became wreathed in a power golden aura. With his body now brimming with Chaos Energy, he began to fly away from the Death Egg, curving around until he was a safe distance from the fortress, watching it for a few seconds until it suddenly exploded, gigantic chunks of flaming metal flying in nearly every direction as they began to fall towards the ground. Sonic smiled, knowing that they had prevented anyone from getting hurt by Eggman's actions and all got out alive, before noticing something out of the corner of his eye, looking over to spot a distant escape pod, followed closely by Metal Sonic, undoubtedly retreating back to Eggman's base.

"Now, where did Eggy disappear to...?" Sonic mused to himself. Almost instantly, the Egg Dragon lunged out from the clouds behind him, mouth wide open. Thanks to the hedgehog's enhanced reflexes, he managed to avoid the attack before the mech could crush him in its jaws. The empowered hedgehog zoomed around and stopped behind the Dragon, arms folded.

"Gotta be honest, Egghead, never pegged you for a dragon lover. You look more like the baby canary type." Sonic taunted as the Egg Dragon turned to face him.

"Make all the jokes you want, Sonic! But if you could even begin to fathom the pinnacle of my Egg Dragon's power, you wouldn't be so carefree!" Eggman retorted. "This machine is the ultimate vessel for my newly perfected Chaos Conduction System. What you experienced with the Egg Titan was merely a precursor to this."

"And I'm guessing you did something similar with Metal Sonic and those Shadow Androids." The hedgehog surmised. "Well, we took them out, no sweat. You really think your overgrown robo-lizard can do the job?"

"I simply consider this my creation's ultimate test. And if it can trounce you, imagine what it can do to the rest of your feeble friends!" The doctor replied.

"Well, it's a shame you're never gonna find out. Because that tin can's not gonna last long enough to try it." Sonic responded, glaring at the mech as he readied himself for battle.

"You might talk a good game, Sonic, but I'm afraid that today, it's game over for you!" Eggman taunted, his mech instantly firing out a shot of Chaos-powered flames, which Sonic quickly avoided. The two then shot through the skies at blinding speeds, colliding frequently and with devastating force. The Dragon then suddenly charged at Sonic, the hedgehog nimbly dodging as he dashed and struck the body of the mech in several areas, looking for a weak point. One spot on the mech's back, just below its neck, received a small but noticeable dent as Sonic struck it, and the hedgehog stopped his assault for a second, aiming for that area. Before he could, though, the Dragon's tail swatted him out of the way. Sonic managed to right himself in time to see the Egg Dragon fire a round of missiles - the same ones from before - into the air, which then homed in on the hedgehog, who darted through the air to avoid them all. He managed to evade the attacks for the most part, but two missiles collided with each other and exploded, knocking him back a fair bit.

"Hmm... tougher than I thought. Must be because of the Master Emerald's energy." Sonic said to himself.

"I don't care how long it takes, I will defeat you! Even without a full supply of Chaos Energy, this machine can keep running at maximum for 48 hours at its current level!" Eggman gloated from afar before the Egg Dragon suddenly fired another volley of missiles as it flew down and disappeared into the clouds. Sonic avoided the attack and looked around, waiting for a sign that the mech was about to attack. Before long, the Egg Dragon emerged behind him and attempted another biting attack. Sonic reacted quickly enough to avoid the mech's jaws, flying away to better evade its next attacks.

The Egg Dragon's head lowered, revealing a pair of cannons on its back, which began firing powerful lasers at the hedgehog. Sonic weaved through the attacks, knowing that he would have to end this battle quickly, or else the Dragon would outlast his Super Form. The hedgehog circled around faster than the dragon could keep up and struck the mech's weak spot, tearing off a chunk of its armour and revealing the Chaos Core within. The hedgehog grinned as he sped forward, aiming for the exposed Chaos Core within the mech's body. But before he could strike, a cloak of green energy suddenly enveloped the mech, repelling the empowered hedgehog and sending him flying back before he righted himself, staring at the mech in shock.

"The heck?!" He exclaimed, watching as the mech remained covered in a green field of energy.

"Good luck breaking through now!" Eggman gloated, the Dragon firing another volley of missiles at the hedgehog. Sonic darted through the air to avoid the attack, soaring around the mech's back. As he looked back at the Egg Dragon, he noticed that the protective cloak of Chaos Energy surrounding the mech's body had opened up around the missile launchers, forming holes large enough for them to pass through.

"Hey, wait a minute..." He muttered as he avoided the missiles, trying to figure out how to bypass the barrier. The gaps that opened up when the mech fired its missiles were too small for him to pass through, so he would need to find one that was big enough to break through. And then it hit him - the cannon in the mech's mouth would provide a sufficient opening, but that would require the hedgehog to face the Dragon's powerful flames head-on.

Once the missiles had all missed or detonated, Sonic came to a sudden stop and began charging up for a powerful dash. Eggman, seeing an opportunity to finish off the hedgehog while he was vulnerable, began charging up the Dragon's flame cannon, not aware that this was exactly what the hedgehog was counting on. The two unleashed their attacks at the same time, the empowered hedgehog struggling against the stream of Chaos Energy-powered flames as they pushed him back, shielded by his own Chaos Energy. Sonic winced as he struggled against the onslaught, desperate to defeat the mechanical monstrosity before him.

The hedgehog put as much power as he could into his attack, and began piercing through the stream of flames, rocketing straight towards the opening of the cannon. Eggman had no time to react before Sonic shot straight into the mouth and tore through the interior. It wasn't long before he reached the mech's chest and smashed through the protective armour of the Dragon, tearing out the mech's Chaos Core as he did so. The empowered hedgehog crushed the device in his hand as the mech began to convulse and spark. Deciding to cut his losses, Eggman reluctantly ejected his Egg Mobile from the Egg Dragon's cockpit and attempted to fly away when small explosions occurred across its body, sending Eggman rocketing away uncontrollably.

"Aagh! I'll get you for this, hedgehooog!" Eggman yelled as he flew away, leaving the Egg Dragon to fall into the clouds below, exploding in a massive burst of energy once it was out of sight. The hedgehog watched and sighed in relief, before turning around and flying at blinding speed, aiming to catch up to his friends before the transformation wore off...

* * *

Meanwhile, the Tornado and the Freedom Fighter Jet flew through the skies as they headed home, the Freedom Fighters waiting anxiously for Sonic's return. Sally, in particular, had a worried look on her face as she sat on the wing of the Tornado, concerned for Sonic's safety, something Tails noticed even with her back to him.

"He's going to be fine, Sally." Tails assured her. Sally continued to look ahead, trying not to worry about him, when her attention was caught by the sound of a sudden distant explosion. She turned her head to the direction the noise was coming from, seeing a large explosion of green light in the distance.

"Is that...?" Sally muttered to herself, before another flash of light - this time gold instead of green - appeared, seemingly heading in their direction, rushing past the Tornado. Sally followed the streak of light as it suddenly slowed down, allowing the Tornado to catch up, and Sally gasped in astonishment as she realised who it was, while the rest of his friends saw him from the jet and cheered triumphantly.

"Sonic?" She asked, completely taken aback at the hedgehog's gold-coloured form.

"What do you think, Sal? How do I look?" The empowered hedgehog asked jokingly, causing Sally's amazement to be replaced with amusement.

"And just when I thought your ego couldn't get any bigger." She snarked. "So, this is what you needed the Chaos Emeralds for."

"Yep! I figured if Eggman was gonna use the Master Emerald's power against us, I might as well even out the playing field." Sonic replied, flying over and landing onto the wing of the Tornado. As he did, his body began to get brighter before a flash of light emanated from his body, and the hedgehog's fur and quills returned to normal. The Chaos Emeralds suddenly appeared around his body before suddenly flying away, falling down to the ground below, and Sonic was left to fall to his knees in exhaustion.

"Are you okay?" Sally said as he helped him up.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Sonic said as he got back to his feet, taking a few seconds to catch his breath. Once she was sure he was okay, Sally turned around to look at where the Death Egg used to be.

"We did it..." Sally muttered. Though she never doubted her team for a second, she was still amazed that they were able to overcome the odds.

"What about Eggman? Did he escape?" Tails asked.

"He got sent flying when that overgrown toy of his bit the dust. We probably won't be bothering us for a while. And if he does, we'll just take him down together." Sonic replied, turning to Sally and extending his closed hand to her. Sally immediately recognized the gesture; it was their special handshake from years ago. "Just like old times, right?" He asked. Sally smiled in response.

"Yeah. Just like old times." She said warmly as the two performed the handshake - bumping each other's fists, then spinning their index and pinky fingers together, before culminating in a thumbs up from both of them. The two smiled at each other before Sonic faced the clouds ahead.

"Alright, guys. Let's go home and celebrate!" Sonic cheered, raising a fist into the air as the team headed home. Sally smiled as she sat down on the wing and reminisced.

After three long years, the Freedom Fighters had finally reunited, forming some new allies in the process. And now that they were, they would face any challenges the same way they always had; together.


End file.
